Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism eBook
$20.00
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a Boston Globe “20 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Fall” and a Next Big Idea Club “Must-Read Book for September 2024.” The Pulitzer Prize–winning art critic’s gripping account of the “Terrible Year” in Paris…
Digital edition, delivered to your inbox within 24 hours of payment. No shipping, no delivery charge.
About this eTextbook
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice, a Boston Globe “20 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Fall” and a Next Big Idea Club “Must-Read Book for September 2024.” The Pulitzer Prize–winning art critic’s gripping account of the “Terrible Year” in Paris and its monumental impact on the rise of Impressionism. From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans—then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born—in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue.
In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists developed a newfound sense of the fragility of life.
That feeling for transience—reflected in Impressionism’s emphasis on fugitive light, shifting seasons, glimpsed street scenes, and the impermanence of all things—became the movement’s great contribution to the history of art. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. Smee poignantly depicts their complex relationship, their tangled effect on each other, and their great legacy, while bringing overdue attention to the woman at the heart of Impressionism.
Incisive and absorbing, Paris in Ruins captures the shifting passions and politics of the art world, revealing how the pressures of the siege and the chaos of the Commune had a profound impact on modern art, and how artistic genius can emerge from darkness and catastrophe. W. Norton & Company.
Publication details
- Author: Sebastian Smee
- Publisher: W
- eText ISBN: 9781324006961, 132400696X
- Print ISBN: 9781324006954, 1324006951
What you receive
- A licensed digital edition of this title, supplied as PDF or EPUB. The format is set by the publisher, so email us the ISBN before ordering and we will confirm which one it is.
- Delivered to the email address on your order as a secure download link, usually within minutes and always within 24 hours of payment.
- Download links do not expire and there is no cap on re-downloads. Readable on any computer, tablet or phone, online or offline.
- This is a digital edition. Nothing is printed, packed or posted, and there is no delivery charge.
Delivery
Free on every order. This is a digital edition. Nothing is printed, packed or posted, so there is no delivery charge, no minimum order and no handling fee. The only thing added at checkout is 5% sales tax, shown on its own line before you confirm.
- Sent to the email address on your order, as a secure download link.
- Usually within a few minutes of payment clearing.
- Guaranteed within 24 hours, including weekends and holidays.
- Links do not expire and there is no cap on re-downloads.
- Delivered worldwide. No customs charge or import duty can arise.
Format. Titles are supplied as PDF or EPUB, set by the publisher. If the format matters to you, email us the eText ISBN before ordering and we will confirm which it is, normally the same business day.
Nothing arrived? Check your spam and promotions folders first. If it is not there 24 hours after payment, email us your order number and we will resend it. Full detail on the Delivery Policy.
Refunds
A digital file cannot be posted back, so there is no return process. There are situations that are refundable and situations that are not, and both are stated plainly.
Refunded in full, within 30 days of the order:
- The file is corrupt, truncated, or will not open in a reader that supports its format.
- Content is missing from the edition you were sold.
- The wrong title was delivered.
- The edition, eText ISBN, author or format does not match this page.
- You were charged twice for the same title.
- Nothing was delivered and we cannot reissue it.
Not downloaded yet? Cancel within 14 days for a full refund, no reason needed.
Not refundable: a title you downloaded and then decided you did not want, a file that does not suit your device where we did not say it would, buying the wrong edition when this page stated it correctly, and publisher printing or copy limits.
Approved refunds are issued within 2 to 5 business days to the card that paid. Full detail on the Returns & Refund Policy.
Payment
Checkout runs on Stripe. We accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover and JCB, credit or debit. That list is complete. No account is needed; guest checkout is available on every order.
What you are charged: the price on this page, plus 5% sales tax. Delivery is $0.00. There is no handling fee, no processing fee and no card surcharge. The order summary shows the full total before you confirm, and that figure is what leaves your account.
Nothing recurring. One charge per order. No subscription, no membership, no trial that converts, no saved-card auto-billing.
Security. Card numbers never reach us. Payment details are entered into fields hosted by Stripe, a PCI DSS Level 1 provider. We can see only the card brand, the last four digits and whether the payment succeeded. The whole site runs over HTTPS.
Prices are in US dollars. A card issued outside the United States is converted by your own bank at its own rate. Full detail on the Payment Policy.
About this eTextbook
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a Boston Globe “20 Books We Can’t Wait to Read This Fall” and a Next Big Idea Club “Must-Read Book for September 2024.” The Pulitzer Prize–winning art critic’s gripping account of the “Terrible Year” in Paris and its monumental impact on the rise of Impressionism. From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the “Terrible Year” by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans—then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born—in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue.
In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists developed a newfound sense of the fragility of life.
That feeling for transience—reflected in Impressionism’s emphasis on fugitive light, shifting seasons, glimpsed street scenes, and the impermanence of all things—became the movement’s great contribution to the history of art. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. Smee poignantly depicts their complex relationship, their tangled effect on each other, and their great legacy, while bringing overdue attention to the woman at the heart of Impressionism.
Incisive and absorbing, Paris in Ruins captures the shifting passions and politics of the art world, revealing how the pressures of the siege and the chaos of the Commune had a profound impact on modern art, and how artistic genius can emerge from darkness and catastrophe. W. Norton & Company.
Publication details
- Author: Sebastian Smee
- Publisher: W
- eText ISBN: 9781324006961, 132400696X
- Print ISBN: 9781324006954, 1324006951
What you receive
- A licensed digital edition of this title, supplied as PDF or EPUB. The format is set by the publisher, so email us the ISBN before ordering and we will confirm which one it is.
- Delivered to the email address on your order as a secure download link, usually within minutes and always within 24 hours of payment.
- Download links do not expire and there is no cap on re-downloads. Readable on any computer, tablet or phone, online or offline.
- This is a digital edition. Nothing is printed, packed or posted, and there is no delivery charge.
Related products
Featured Titles
Featured Titles
Featured Titles
Featured Titles
Featured Titles
Featured Titles
