Manet, Flaubert, and the Emergence of Modernism: Blurring Genre Boundaries

This study combines art history and literary criticism in a joint study of the canonical "fathers" of modernism. Arden Reed argues that modernism is a matter of genre blending, hybridization and movements between text and image. Focusing on key works, Reed reveals how Manet and Flaubert actively mix and contaminate their work- Flaubert with images, Manet with narration. Reed extends the argument to the twentieth century, claiming we cannot understand twentieth century modernism while remaining locked within single disciplines.

Manet, Flaubert and the Emergence of Modernism weaves together art history and literary criticism in a joint study of the canonical 'fathers' of modernism.