French symbolist artist Odilon Redon (1840-1916) seemed to thrive at the intersection of literature and art. Known as "the painter-writer", he drew on the works of Poe, Baudelaire, Flaubert, and Mallarme for his subject matter. And yet he concluded that visual art has nothing to do with literature. Examining this apparent contradiction, "The Brush and the Pen" transforms the way we understand Redon's career and brings to life the interaction between writers and artists in fin-de-siecle Paris. Dario Gamboni tracks Redon's evolution from collaboration with the writers of symbolism and decadence to a defense of the autonomy of the visual arts. He argues that Redon's conversion was the symptom of a mounting crisis in the relationship between artists and writers, provoked at the turn of the century by the growing power of art criticism that foreshadowed the modernist separation of the arts into intractable fields. In addition to being a distinguished study of this provocative artist, "The Brush and the Pen" offers a critical reappraisal of the interaction of art, writing, criticism, and government institutions in late nineteenth-century France.

About the Author
Dario Gamboni is professor of the history of art at the University of Geneva. He is the author of many books in French and English. Mary Whittall was a professional translator living in England. Among her translations are Roland Recht's Believing and Seeing: The Art of Gothic Cathedrals, also published by the University of Chicago Press.


Book Information
ISBN 9780226280554
Author Dario Gamboni
Format Hardback
Page Count 424
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 936g
Dimensions(mm) 24mm * 16mm * 3mm