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Bison
Philadelphie, 1828. Promis à une belle carrière d'avocat et de peintre mondain, George Catlin voit une délégation d'Indiens se rendre à Washington pour négocier des traités. Il est ébloui par la superbe des cavaliers. Bientôt, le peintre renonce à ses portraits de citadins huppés, il quitte sa femme, sa ville, son confort, enfourche son cheval pour galoper le long du Missouri et du Mississippi à la rencontre de dizaines de tribus. La grande prairie est vierge. Nuls colons, nuls cow-boys. Des millions de bisons. Catlin est le premier à saisir sur le vif, armé de sa palette et de son pinceau, l'épopée des Indiens. Il réalise d'inoubliables portraits, recueille une incroyable moisson d'objets, son fameux « musée indien » qui fascinera quelques années plus tard George Sand et Baudelaire.Bison raconte le séjour de Catlin chez les Sioux, les aventures d'un village et de ses héros singuliers. L'imagination vient volontiers à la rescousse du document pour recréer, incarner le grand rêve de cet Américain sans préjugés, de ce fou d'Indiens, luttant pour sauvegarder leurs visages magnifiques et condamnés.Patrick Grainville est né en 1947 à Villers (Normandie). En 1976, il a obtenu le prix Goncourt pour Les Flamboyants et en 2012 le Grand Prix Paul-Morand de l'Académie française pour l'ensemble de son oeuvre.
317 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 2, 2014
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March 10, 2017
Based on the diary of the painter George Catlin, this novel describes the life in a Sioux tribe in the early 1800s. The novel is a twofold portrait: that of Amerindians, and that of a great, but little known, painter.
George Catlin (1796-1872) renounced to his career as a lawyer and portraitist of rich bourgeois in Pennsylvania in order to travel through North America and paint the Amerindians. He had a deep admiration for the Amerindians and established close relations with them. More than a painter, he was an anthropologist. In his diary, he recorded his observations about the life and customs of the Indian tribes. He was also collector and exchanged portraits and the paintings against wonderful craft objects.
Through Catlin, the novel makes us discover a Sioux tribe. Catlin observes everyday life and the work of women. He partcipates in hunting and witnesses conflicts between the Sioux and Crows. All the characters are interesting, but two in particular have a central role in the story:
Oiseau-deux-couleurs (Bird-two-color), "man-woman", a transvestite, is also the shaman of the tribe. We discover the tolerance of the Indians face to different sexual attitudes. Oiseau-deux-couleurs is also an artist. He comments Catlin's work. "You do not paint your visions ... You imitate things ... Myself, when a warrior comes to paint a shield, ... I paint the image that appears to me."
Louve (Wolf) is a rebellious woman. She is strong and independent, and escapes the traditional role of the Indian woman. She is brace and likes to take part in masculine activities, such as horse riding and hunting.
This captivating novel reminds us that the United States was based on the destruction of lands and wildlife, mainly the gigantic herds of bison, and the systematic genocide of Amerindian tribes.
George Catlin (1796-1872) renounced to his career as a lawyer and portraitist of rich bourgeois in Pennsylvania in order to travel through North America and paint the Amerindians. He had a deep admiration for the Amerindians and established close relations with them. More than a painter, he was an anthropologist. In his diary, he recorded his observations about the life and customs of the Indian tribes. He was also collector and exchanged portraits and the paintings against wonderful craft objects.
Through Catlin, the novel makes us discover a Sioux tribe. Catlin observes everyday life and the work of women. He partcipates in hunting and witnesses conflicts between the Sioux and Crows. All the characters are interesting, but two in particular have a central role in the story:
Oiseau-deux-couleurs (Bird-two-color), "man-woman", a transvestite, is also the shaman of the tribe. We discover the tolerance of the Indians face to different sexual attitudes. Oiseau-deux-couleurs is also an artist. He comments Catlin's work. "You do not paint your visions ... You imitate things ... Myself, when a warrior comes to paint a shield, ... I paint the image that appears to me."
Louve (Wolf) is a rebellious woman. She is strong and independent, and escapes the traditional role of the Indian woman. She is brace and likes to take part in masculine activities, such as horse riding and hunting.
This captivating novel reminds us that the United States was based on the destruction of lands and wildlife, mainly the gigantic herds of bison, and the systematic genocide of Amerindian tribes.
March 2, 2020
La vie des peaux-rouges peint par Georges Catlin et raconté par Grainville, jouissif
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews