Review: In Montmartre: Picasso, Matisse and the Birth of Modernist Art

In Montmartre: Picasso, Matisse and the Birth of Modernist Art by Sue Roe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This basically reads like a sequel to the book "The Private Lives of the Impressionists". So much so, in fact, that I'm embarrassed to say I didn't realize it was the same author until after finishing the book. Essentially, Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, Georges Braque, Henri Rousseau, Gertrude Stein, and even Igor Stravinsky, picked up the baton from the impressionists. Once again, this was a group of very poor artists who were hanging around Montmartre (in many of the same cafes as the impressionists), trying to find their way in art. 

The focus of this book is Picasso and Matisse, and their on-off rivalry, but it ends up encompassing the entire Montmartre scene, basically until the windmills are taken down and the scene moves down to Montparnasse (and I see she has a sequel of sorts here as well: "In Montparnasse: The Emergence of Surrealism in Paris, from Duchamp to Dali"). 

Regardless, once again I found the book excellent, enlightening, and I found myself having to look up many of the paintings mentioned by the author, as well as places I plan on visiting the next time I'm in Paris. 

View all my reviews