Recollections of a Picture Dealer (Dover Fine Art, History of Art)
by: Ambroise Vollard (0)
Celebrity, art merchant, socialite, publisher, and writer, Ambroise Vollard (1867–1939) was one of the most extraordinary figures in 20th-century art. He possessed an uncanny ability to recognize genius in painters — dozens of important artists received valuable commissions and gallery space with his help, and his galleries presented the first one-man shows for such luminaries as Matisse, Cézanne, and Picasso. Vollard's warmth, candor, and intelligence earned him the friendship of a generation of artists and make this memoir an enthralling and often hilarious account of an exciting Golden Age of painting.
Vollard's anecdotal recollections transport the reader to Paris at the turn of the 20th century and the legendary "Street of Pictures," the rue Laffitte, where Vollard lived and worked. Rather than critiquing artists or esthetic movements, Vollard focuses on the human sidelights that made his life as picture dealer so rich and fascinating: his early efforts to sell the works of Cézanne, despite incredible opposition to Impressionism; his dinner parties, whose guests included Renoir, Forain, Degas, Redon, and Rodin; his many portrait sittings for Cézanne, Renoir, Rouault, Bonnard, Forain, and Picasso; his observation on the studios, habits, and personalities of Manet, Matisse, Picasso, de Groux, Signac, and Rousseau; and his encounters with Gertrude Stein, Alfred Jarry, Guillaume Apollinaire, Mallarmé, and Zola.
The Reviews
This memoir is really a collection of anecdotes, which taken together give a vivid impression of a hardworking networking merchant with very good taste.His energy and determination would have made him a fearsome competitor in what is always a fiercely competitive business. His taste made him memorable.Interesting from a historical perspective, but essentially a lightweight book.
You have to read this book! Period. I loved it and I am re-reading it. It is an authentic recollection of a great dealer, who put his faith in a bunch of very young artists; the Impressionists.
Big variety of very informal friendships between the author and legendary artist. Writing style is a little uneven, but the stories are good.
Read now if you love art, paris and cezanne
Great book...! It makes you travel in the past with a great narration and precise references to the age of the impresionism
Unless you are totally into the field of art history in the early 1900's, this book drags on a bit.
I found this book to be quiet interesting. Ambroise Vollard is an extremely important person in art history, and these are his own personal stories. They're very interesting, but I personally found them kind of hard to read and follow. Vollard by no means was a great writer and seems to be all over the place and either used very poor english or was poorly translated (my guess is the 2nd) If you're looking for some good stories though this is a nice read
Whatever you may think of the writing style and content, this book is historic in its autobiographical account of one of the world's most important art dealers. I found it totally fascinating. It brought one of the foremost art historical times to life for me. Even if you are not much of an art aficionado, how could you not be intrigued by the interaction between these historic figures?
