The Impressionists at Leisure

No group of painters pursued the civilized and sensual pleasures of life so avidly while reflecting them so deliciously in their paintings as the Impressionists. Here Pamela Todd skillfully interweaves diaries, letters, memoirs, and her own acute observations into a fresh take on these colorful characters—all illustrated with a captivating and unique selection of paintings, drawings, photographs, posters, and ephermera.

Nineteenth-century Paris and its environs are brought vividly to life. Here are the bustling bars and cafés, the dazzling Opera, the lively dances at the Moulin de la Galette, and raucous nights at the Moulin Rouge. These are balanced by the frequent escapes that the Impressionists made from the city for a day of boating on the Seine, a few weeks spent painting by the sea, or a vacation on the French Riviera.

The book includes the Impressionists and Impressionist-inspired artists of other countries—the United States, Germany, Italy, and the Scandinavian nations—amply demonstrating the enthusiastic spread of Impressionism outside France. It is completed with biographies of the key figures in the book and addresses and contact details for the most important sites discussed, allowing readers to plan their own pilgrimages to the haunts that captured the Impressionists' hearts.

Pamela Todd, an English art historian, has written extensively on the art and culture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Reproductions of some of the world's favorite artworks celebrate leisure activities in the nineteenth century.

No group of painters pursued the civilized and sensual pleasures of life so avidly while reflecting them so deliciously in their paintings as the Impressionists. Here Pamela Todd skillfully interweaves diaries, letters, memoirs, and her own acute observations into a fresh take on these colorful characters—all illustrated with a captivating and unique selection of paintings, drawings, photographs, posters, and ephemera.

Nineteenth-century Paris and its environs are brought vividly to life. Here are the bustling bars and cafés, the dazzling Opera, the lively dances at the Moulin de la Galette, and raucous nights at the Moulin Rouge. These are balanced by the frequent escapes that the Impressionists made from the city for a day boating on the Seine, a few weeks spent painting by the sea, or a vacation on the French Riviera.

The book includes the Impressionists and Impressionist-inspired artists of other countries—the United States, Germany, Italy, and the Scandinavian nations—amply demonstrating the enthusiastic spread of Impressionism outside France. It is completed with biographies of the key figures in the book and addresses and contact details for the most important sites discussed, allowing readers to plan their own pilgrimages to the haunts that captured the Impressionists' hearts. 170 illustrations, 120 in color.

Library Journal

As far as themes of academic discourse are concerned, "the impressionists" and "leisure in art and literature" are not uncommon as both have been acutely examined and written about by countless scholars. That said, what is unique about this book is that Todd (Celebrating the Impressionist Table; The Impressionists at Home ) weaves the two themes together to create a sort of visual history of the impressionists' role in and account of the "new" leisure society in France at the turn of the 19th century. The visual part of the story consists of impressionist paintings of French café and bar culture, swimmers, picnickers, theatergoers, dancers, boaters, and shoppers. The history part of the story comes from impressionists' personal archives, where Todd has apparently spent much time reading and translating countless letters, manuscripts, and related documents from the original French. So while Todd's overarching theme is not necessarily innovative, she unites famous and lesser-known impressionist and post-impressionist pictures and words to create a lovely and engaging history about the way the impressionists lived and painted the life of leisure. Recommended.-Jennifer H. Polluck, Yale Ctr. for British Art, New Haven, CT

Pamela Todd, an English art historian, has written extensively on the art and culture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.