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Masters and Servants

By Pierre Michon
Series: The Margellos World Republic of Letters
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Masters and Servants by Pierre Michon explores the intricate and often tumultuous relationships between artists and their patrons. Focusing on the lives of several historical artists, the novel delves into themes of power, artistic ambition, and the delicate balance of dependence and autonomy. Through Michon's evocative prose, readers are invited to consider how these relationships shape both the creation and perception of art.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate exploring the intricate relationships and hidden dynamics between historical figures and their less-acknowledged counterparts. With vivid prose and a deep understanding of art and history, this novel delves into the lives of artists and those who influenced or surrounded them. It could appeal to readers interested in historical fiction that brings past personalities and their worlds to life.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Imagines decisive moments in the lives of five artists of different times and places: Vincent van Gogh, Francisco Goya, Antoin Watteau, Claude Lorrain and Lorentino, a disciple of Piero della Francesca. The author focuses on particular moments when artist and model collide, whether that model is a person or a landscape, inner or outer.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

One of Pierre Michon's most powerful works, this book imagines decisive moments in the lives of five artists of different times and places: Vincent van Gogh, Francisco Goya, Antoine Watteau, Claude Lorrain, and Lorentino, a little-remembered disciple of Piero della Francesca.

Michon focuses on particular moments when artist and model collide, whether that model is a person or a landscape, inner or outer. In the five separate tales, he evokes the full passion of the artist's struggle to capture the world in images even as the world resists capture.

Each story is a small masterpiece that transcends national boundaries and earns its place among the essential works of world literature.

Series: The Margellos World Republic of Letters

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Reviews of Masters and Servants by Pierre Michon highlight the author’s unique voice and the vivid, almost hallucinatory quality of his prose. Michon artfully evokes life from the silence of paintings, transforming portraits into deeply complex beings and blending the boundary between the actual and visionary. Critics praise the book for its portrayal of artists like van Gogh and Goya and commend Wyatt Mason's translation for its vibrancy and precision.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780300180695

Publisher: Yale University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 22 October 2013

Country: United States

Imprint: Yale University Press

Illustration: 5 b-w

Contributors:

  • Translated by Wyatt Mason

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 13.0mm

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 209g

Pages: 192

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Pierre Michon Series: The Margellos World Republic of Letters

About the Author

Pierre Michon is an author of high acclaim in France and Europe. He was winner of the Prix France Culture in 1984 for his first book, Small Lives, and of the 1996 Prix de la Ville de Paris for his body of work. He lives in France. Wyatt Mason, a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and a contributing editor at Harper's, has translated writing by Pierre Michon, Eric Chevillard, Michel de Montaigne, and Arthur Rimbaud. He teaches at Bard College.

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