Οι Μποέμ

by Dan Franck, Ρένα Χατχούτ (Translator)

Παρίσι, η πόλη του φωτός, η πόλη του έρωτα, της ξεγνοιασιάς, της ελεύθερης ζωής, η πόλη των Μποέμ. Στις αρχές του αιώνα, όταν το Παρίσι είναι η πρωτεύουσα του κόσμου ολόκληρου, στα πεζοδρόμια της Μονμάρτρης και του Μονπαρνάς, τύποι υπέροχοι υπηρετούσαν και διέδιδαν τη μοντέρνα Τέχνη. Ο Πικάσο ο αναρχικός, ο Μοντιλιάνι με τις γυναίκες του, ο ερωτιάρης Απολινέρ, ο τρυφερός Μαξ Ζακόμπ, ο Μπρακ, ο Ματίς, ο Μπρετόν...
Έρχονταν απ' όλες τις χώρες. Ήταν ζωγράφοι, ποιητές, γλύπτες, μουσικοί, άνθρωποι της διασκέδασης, ερωτευμένοι, αιώνια νέοι... Ήταν φτωχοί αλλά χαρούμενοι, γυμνοί αλλά ελεύθεροι. Ήταν καλλιτέχνες. Για τρεις δεκαετίες οδηγούσαν το χορό της πένας και του πινέλου. Η ζωή τους ήταν εκτυφλωτική σαν τα έργα τους. Και τα έργα τους ήταν όμορφα σαν τη ζωή. Έμειναν για πάντα, πρόσωπα με το δικό τους μύθο, οι ήρωες της εποχής των Μποέμ, ένας κόσμος εκπληκτικός, το φως του οποίου φωτίζει ακόμη τον αιώνα μας. (Από την παρουσίαση στο οπισθόφυλλο του βιβλίου)

Genres: Art, History, Nonfiction, France, Art History, Biography, Cultural

577 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Dan Franck a publié une trentaine d’ouvrages et écrit une vingtaine de scénarios de films. On lui doit notamment La Séparation (1991, Prix Renaudot), les huit volumes des Aventures de Boro, reporter-photographe, en collaboration avec Jean Vautrin, Le temps des bohèmes (2015) et Scénario (2018). Scénario de Dan Franck fait partie de la sélection du prix Monte-Cristo, sélection littéraire de Fleury-Mérogis. (Novembre, 2018)

Reviews

[Argos · Rating 5 out of 5]

BOHEMLER
Mo­dern sanat bu yüce bozguncuların ve kışkırtıcıların ellerinde doğmuş­tur. 1900-1930 arasında bu sanatçılar sanatçı yaşamı sürdürmektediler ve bu yaşamları kimilerinin nefretini, kimilerinin de kıskançlı­ğını çekti: Onlar cömert, başka yerlerden gelmiş bu halklara özgürlük sunan bir kardeşlik kenti olan Paris'te yaşamayı tercih etmişlerdi.

Bohemler Bateau-Lavoir atölyelerinde doğmuş ve Ruche ve Mont­parnasse kaldırımlarında büyümüştür. Monmartre ve Montparnasse sanatçıları olan Max Jakop, Picasso, Apollinaire, Modigliani, Utrillo, Cendrars, Cocteau ve Soutine Paris’te olmasalardı bugün ünlü olamazlardı. Utrillo’nun annesi Suzanne Valandon'du.

O dönemlerde ortaya çıkan bir çok yeni akım vardır. Fovizm, kübizm resimde, Dadaizm ve sürrealizm başta edebiyat olmak üzere birçok sanat dalında. Dadacıların ve daha sonra gerçeküstü­ cülerin insanları şiddetli tavırlarla ve acımasızca kışkırtmaları kitapta çok ayrıntılı olarak anlatılıyor.

Kitabın ilk yarısında ağırlık resim ve heykel sanatı üzerine ve eğlenceli. İkinci yarı ise edebiyat ağırlıklı ve biraz sıkıcı. Aragon, Breton, Elaurd, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Tzara, Ernst, Triole, Ehrenburg ilk anda aklıma gelen isimler. Sonuçta sanat dünyasının bohemlerini her türlü zayıflıkları, aşırılıkları ve gariplikleriyle tanıdığınız gibi dirençleriyle, zorluklarla mücadele aşklarıyla, sefaletleriyle ama iki durumda da dehalarıyla yakından tanıyorsunuz.

Kitapta çok ismin yer alması ve bazı olaylarda fazla detaya inilmesi, kronolojide bir standart belirnmemesi okumada zorluk yaratsa da kesinlikle okunması bir kitap olarak kayda alınması kanısındayım.

[Nicole Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is like no other historical non-fiction book I've read. It takes a unique approach to telling the stories of these artists and their lives - the places they lived, the places they ate, the women they loved. Its totally engaging and especially so if you love Paris and Picasso like I do..

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The People Magazine of Bohemian Paris. Franck seems at times a little too breathlessly excited by all the excitement. And as with all excitement when its gone on for too long, the excitement becomes tedious.

[Mikey B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

They are all in here – Picasso, Modigliani, Rousseau, Gertrude Stein, Duchamp, Man Ray with a sprinkling of Hemingway. The book is a series of short vignettes on the daily life in Montmartre and Montparnasse with the drugs, the poverty the sex…
Sometimes I feel the author is too dismissive of the emotional toll on the lives of the women who were used/abused/discarded with regularity by these artists and some make-believe artists. And the vignettes become repetitive, but entertaining nonetheless.
What is intriguing is that Paris was the centre for art, culture and experimentation from 1900 thru the 1930’s, but was gradually replaced by New York (the occupation during the war accomplished the final transfer).

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A veritable panorama of Montmartre and Montparnasse in the early 20th century. Though the cover name-checks Picasso, Modigliani, and Matisse, the actual cast of characters is much larger, comprising everyone from Utrillo to Man Ray. Picasso is the anchor of sorts, as so much of the artistic scene of the time and place revolved around him. Matisse, Gertrude Stein, and Guillaume Apollinaire, as well as the various art dealers and critics who shaped the artists' careers, also play large parts. With the advent of the war and the setting's shift across the Seine the book loses some of its focus, with short chapters focusing on less well-known Paris characters. Some of their stories, however, are rather interesting. The better-known American "expatriates" were, of course, not the whole story. Among the well-meaning and/or irascible cabaret owners and landlords, collectors, and fiery-tempered women were also other artists from as far afield as Poland or Japan who had flocked to Paris for its reputation and for its freedom. The scene couldn't last forever, however, and before the specter of the Nazis there was the doctrinaire infighting of the Surrealists and the retreat of many of the principal artists to either greener pastures or the grave. Bohemian Paris was an excellent and accessible overview of the artistic and literary ferment of that now bygone Paris.

[Jennifer Ozawa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the idea behind this book. I’m fascinated by what is known as the Lost Generation. Reading about the lives of artists and musicians is interesting to me.

So I’m not sure why I didn’t like this more. The end felt rushed, like the author realized he had to be somewhere and had to wrap up the story fast. Also, his stories got confusing.

[Brian Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bohemian Paris: Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, and the Birth of Modern Art by Dan Franck is a remarkable book, a non-fiction account as only a brilliant novelist could write. The subtitle is a bit misleading, probably there mainly for marketing reasons, as those artists don’t particularly stand out amongst the literal cast of hundreds who had a hand in creating modern art. One noteworthy attribute of Franck’s account is how closely he interweaves the work & activities of the painters, writers, poets, and playwrights. Modern art was not simply, nor even primarily, the work of the artists we now consider as founders. It is not too much of an exaggeration to claim that no realm of the visual or non-visual arts could have arisen without the others. The modern arts were the creation of a dazzling array of (mostly) 20-something young men who were preoccupied with being outrageous. The translation is a bit rough in spots, and it’s a challenge to keep track of who’s who, but it’s all worth it in the end.

[Michelle Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just my kind of book!

[John Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Bohemian artists in Paris from the 1890s through the 1930s. The book is a string of interlocking vignettes, organized more or less in chronological order, rather than a traditional history. The author focuses on the artists rather than their works of art, and presumes that the reader already possesses a great deal of familiarity with the persons discussed, which can pose a problem with regard to those personalities who are less well known. The book deals primarily with Continental European painters, and to a lesser extent, poets and novelists; the post-WWI American "Lost Generation" of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Dos Passos, and the rest hardly is mentioned.

The book makes the bohemian character clear: persons who chose to live for art above all else, in penury if need be, though many had family money, and when their works started selling for large sums of money they universally were happy to take it. The bohemians organized their social lives around going out in groups of friends, to cafes, parties, plays, or whatever, rather than around family activities. This structure lent an adolescent character to the group, and sure enough, adolescent backbiting apparently was common. I have seen the same characteristic repeated in my own experience when adults organize their social lives around a large group, most prominently at the late, great University Club of Denver.

The book also contains a number of delectable bon mots, at least a few of which should be mentioned here. From Andre Salmon: "There once was a poet so poor, so badly lodged, and so lacking in any kind of comfort that when he was offered a chair by the Academie Francaise, he asked if he could take it home." And this, detailing a discussion between Picasso and a stranger while looking at a painting of Gertrude Stein which Picasso recently had completed: Stranger: "Is that Gertrude Stein?" Picasso: "Yes." Stranger: "It doesn't look like her." Picasso (shrugging his shoulders): "It doesn't make any difference; she will end up looking like it." Despite Picasso's assessment, even the notoriously ungainly Stein never decayed to the point of looking like one of his concoctions.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should say that I perused this book, rather than actually read it. A perfect addition for Francophiles and lovers of the Belle Époque and twenties era in Paris. I thought it would make a nice and succinct segue after reading "Murder Below Montparnasse" by Cara Black, which involves a mystery surrounding a missing Modigliani painting (painter in early 20th century Paris). It's a heavy read, though, with lots of Parisian Boho names and faces- some are familiar, many are not. I felt as though I should read this and write a term paper, as it borders on the academic side, although there is a whimsy to his writing but I can't tell if it was the author's intention or due to the translation.

Perhaps if I had more time with it, and owned it rather than borrowed from the library, I would actually read all the way through. I did have enjoy a nice glass of a delicious cotes du rhone and read sections of the book while the sun set on a balmy early evening last week, and this is the mood one must have while reading "Bohemian Paris". Makes me want to go back to France tout de suite!

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating book: part art history, part cultural anthropology and many parts biography.

Franck examines Parisian art and artists from 1900-1930, beginning with the Fauvists and ending with the Surrealists. In between explaining the movements, he provides outstanding autobiographical information on the artists. Not only does he talk about their lives, he talks about their love affairs and their friendships (or lack thereof) with one another. Historical photographs round out an interesting and scholarly presentation.

Highly recommended for those with an interest in art from this period.

[Kate Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprised by anyone who reads this book and doesn't give it 5 stars. I loved this book and plan on reading it again. This book goes to show you that a really great movie could be made about this era in French history. I loved reading this book so much that I actually put it down so I wouldn't finish it. Being in Paris while I was reading it was an extra bonus. Anyone who loves art and art history should read this book, but it is also a fantastical collection of strange and true happenings that will rivet any reader. READ THIS BOOK!

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't hold my attention all the way to the end. Suppose it's because I'm exhausting my interest in reading about this period. But there was also something in the style that wasn't as gripping as other books I've read on the same subject. Or maybe it was because it's focus was much more on art than writing, and I'm more interested in the latter. Also, Picasso, if you didn't already know it, was an asshole.

Quotes:

In 20s Montparnasee there would no longer be a handful of artists, as in Montamartre, but hundreds, thousands of them. It was an artistic flowering of a richness and quality never to be rivalled, even later in Saint-Germain-des-Pres. Painters, poets, sculptors, and musicians, from all countries, all cultures, classical and modern, met and mingled. Rich patrons of the arts and art dealers of the moment, models and their painters, writers and publishers, poverty-stricken artists and millionaires lived together, side by side.

Doubt is the eternal language of the artist faced with themselves. The new work is never a certainty. It rests on nothing, not even the preceding one.

On the right bank was the Bateau Lavoir, on the left, the smoke-filled evenings of the Closerie des Lilas. Between the two flowed the Seine. And the entire history of modern art.

As Picasso himself would recognize, he wasn't a giver, but a taker.

The novelist will write 'a green dress' and the poet will write 'a dress the color of grass'.

Picasso was jealous of everything and everyone as he would remain the rest of his life.

Their works, vigorous in colors and contrasts, were grouped together in one single room that the art critic Louis Vauxcelles, very popular with conventional thinkers and totally hostile to modern art, called the 'wild beasts' cage', the cage aux fauves. Thus fauvism was born and baptized. Three years later, with others, this same critic compared Braque's painting, exhibited at Kahnweiler's, to cubes. Thus cubism got its name. The man, in his way, was a visionary...

Vlaminck hated not only schools and academies, but also museums, cemeteries, and churches. He claimed that anarchism has led him to fauvism. "I thus satisfied my desire to destroy the old conventions, to 'disobey', so as to recreate a sensitive, vibrant, and liberated world."

Baudelaire wrote The South of France is brutal and positive whereas the North is suffering and anxious.

Arthur Caravan: Some might be tempted to think that I have something against cubism. Not at all: I prefer the eccentricities of even a banal mind to the boring, predictable work of a bourgeois imbecile.

Symbolism freed verse from its constraints and from the burdensome rules of prosody.

In La Ruche, Boucher rented out the studios for a modest price to poor painters (many of them Jewish painters who'd come from Eastern Europe). They had a single room, which they called 'the coffin': a triangle with a platform above the door where the tenants slept on a thin mattress. There was no water, no gas, no electricity. The halls were dark, with rubbish heaped up in the corners, and leaky sewers.

[Poets love wit the way painters love color.]

Blaise Cendrars: The first virtue of a novelist is to be a liar.

The French invented camouflage in World War I by hiring painters, many of them cubists, to make it.

Breton considered Duchamp to be the most intelligent man of the 20th century.

Stieglitz exhibited the works of other artists for free, giving them the full sum earned from every sale. The sale of his own photos was enough for him.

Dada as a term was born on Feb 8th, 1916. On July 14th, 1916, the first Dada performance took place.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was not the book I was looking for, but close. In some ways I'm glad I read it before I find the book I wanted (which I may have very well done when I stumbled upon in this book - Hemingway's Movable Feast. Hemingway plays a small but significant part in Bohemian Paris, and he wrote Movable Feast, which I recently thought about adding to my "Want to Read" list, and now it's definite.

I think this book probably should fall into the non-fiction genre, but you will not find this book dry at all. The grip on me was how animated the characters were, how fleshed out each was (I have no idea if any of it is true, but it was detailed about each character and their interactions one with another. It even felt more like a personal letter from a French artist (friend of the artists and poets) to a friend in America, relaying to him everything he remembers about these friends of his who were key players in the early twentieth century artistic explosion and the culture that spawned it. They were largely poor, trading paintings for food or asking for help, or going without, and it was usually given. They rarely went without lots of drink however. They lived, many, in a single old boarding house (they christened "Bateau Lavoir") in Montmartre, essentially a neighborhood on the Left Bank of Paris where the poorer French folks lived (and played). They were master partiers and lovers - I mean master partiers and lovers!! There's a whole lot of bar hopping with this roving band of gypsies, and bed-hopping.

So, if you want to dip your toe into the rich cultural milieu that was Paris at the beginning of the 19th century and meet the men and women, and their wives and husbands and lovers, friends and enemies, and hang out with them, and feel what it might have been like to live among the artists, poets and authors, running over with creativity, giving birth to a great effusion of art, and culture changing art, this is probably a good place to start. In addition, however, you not only get to know the characters themselves, the Picassos, Matisses, Modiglianis et al, you begin to get a sense of the great foment of ground-breaking creative output at the beginning of the 19th century. I learned a lot about the Cubists, the Dada'ists and the Surrealists and the tumult they created in the artworld.

Was it great? No, but I've wanted to know more about this period for a long time, so it was a great read to me. So now I'm set up to read Movable Feast. [FULL DISCLOSURE: THERE ARE NO REFERENCES TO BOHEMIANS IN THE BOOK THAT I RECALL]

[Erik Surewaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as my knowledge reaches, this is the only book so far that gives a good overview of the artistic revolution that took place in the late 19th and early 20th century. Starting with the impressionist revolution in Montmartre followed by amongst others the Paris School in Montparnasse (+ move of many impressionists to Montparnasse).

This book is not for the faint of heart. It would be good in case you are already aware of many artists during this period. The book discusses many many people from this area, ranging from painters, sculptors, poets, book authors, dealers, collectors, critics, photographers, .. ‘Landmarks’ of this period are also important to know like the bars / restos where the artists often made use of (Lapin Agile, Rotonde, Dome), the theatres, certain streets and houses where artists lived (e.g. Batteau Lavoir, La Ruche)

The only downside of this book is that it changes the subject a lot. But this is also the consequence of this book covering a lot of topics.

In my opinion this is a great book for the advanced reader of art. In case you are not aware of any impressionists or paris school painters, you better first start with other book like e.g. from Sue Roe. For me, this book easily deserves a four star rating.

[Luca Campobasso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because of the richness of facts and research effort put in it, an absolute masterpiece. I love the fact that it gives precise places where things happened (e.g. street names), and rarely the time, but when the author does, mostly years.

It doesn't have a definitive plot, and it doesn't go much in chronological order. It's a "summary" of mini-biographies of the people surrounding Picasso (or his "entourage"), in the first two decades of 1900.

It could stimulate to be read in one go, but I prefer to keep one or two episodes and to read them each day. It's quite enjoying as end or beginning of the day, and it keeps the reader enthusiastic about arts and their bohemian life. It's quite fascinating for me.

It's an enjoyable read for everyone, as it doesn't require special knowledge of art history or so on. Think of it as a funny book about (mostly) poor people doing stuff like painting and writing a hundred years ago.

[Dylan Kiewel · Rating 4 out of 5]

great to hear about all these troublemakers, their art, their escapades, their love lives, their petty bickering, their drug and drinking habits. dan franck must of scoured hundreds of memoirs and history books and or made a lot of shit up and or time traveled a la owen wilson in midnight in paris to dig all this shit up goyd damn. another great accounting of the times of paris of old once again reminding its okay to be poor and kind of crazy and alcoholic and subsisting on scraps of food and mostly a liquid diet and thinking about art and life and people in the most sideway of ways. wish there photo pages of the art mentioned like every other page but oh well. about to add 500 things to my want to read. moving to paris (said for 5000th time)

[Enis]

paris'in yavaştan sanatın merkezi olduğu dönemler, sokaklar birbirine bağlanıyor, barlarda ve stüdyolarda yaşam kendini gösteriyor. Kübizm, savaştan yana olmak, Dada, savaş karşıtlığı, insan varoluşunun çıkmazlarında kendini var etmeye çalışan sanatçılar, sevgililer, ressamlar, şairler, kıtanın öbür tarafı modern sanatın ayak sesleri, Picasso zengin ama fakir gibi yaşar, Modigliani fakirlik içinde ölür, ölümle gelen zenginlik, Tristan Tzara tuhaf bir adam, Andre Breton gerçeküstücülüğün babası ve celladı ve sonra şiir ve en sonda aşk. Yürüyün sokaklarda çünkü değişmeden kalan bir şey yok ve o sokakların üzerine çoktan işendi.

[Sabina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative read on early modern art in Paris. I wasn’t a huge fan of the way the information was delivered — there were not many instances where the author noted the year he was discussing, and there was little emphasis on the work of the artists and creatives. The book was mostly a story of the artists’ lives in Paris, assuming that the reader is familiar with their work. With a little Googling on the side, I was able to piece everything together.

[John Helmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read about a unique period in artistic history. The list of artists residing in Paris, at the start of the last century, most in a single neighborhood, is mind blowing. Try Cezanne, Picasso, Derain, Braque, Vlaminck, to name just a few. They created two entirely new forms of art. Don't even get me started on the poets. Lot's of fun anecdotes. 4/5

[Cornaline_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent livre pour avoir un (large) panorama de la vie artistique des années 1900 à 1930. Bien entendu, ce n'est pas exhaustif, on regrette l'absence, par exemple, de Renée Vivien ou Lise Deharme, ou alors le rôle d'Elsa Triolet, réduit à celui de simple séductrice. A approfondir par d'autres lectures !

[Graham John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beguiling interwoven tale bringing to life many of the greats of modern art which I read in the original hardback edition. Expected to find some of the great photographers in the mix but you can't do everything in the span of one volume. You come away wishing you could have been there.

[Lu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the book too fragmented. It was rather like listening to a person tell a long convoluted story which goes down every tangential bunny trail. Sometimes less is more.

[Elif · Rating 2 out of 5]

English: https://elifthereader.com/books/bohem...
Türkçe: https://kitaplikkedisi.com/kitaplar/b...

[Nola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thoroughly good book on the art scene in Paris, their lives prior to stardom.

[Sergio Zeiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

ótimo!

[KAREN JONES · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

[Alyssa Duhe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art lovers will enjoy.

[Caitlin Steinberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful look into Paris’ magical years. Great historical nonfiction!

[Charles Poisonheart · Rating 5 out of 5]

L'incredibile Parigi di Picasso, Apollinaire, Modigliani, le avanguardie artistiche (pittoriche, poetiche, letterarie), il Bateau Lavour, o le sfavillanti nottate della Montparnasse surrealista: un racconto appassionato e frenetico di una delle migliori stagioni culturali europee, a cavallo tra due devastanti guerre. Per chi ama tutti quei piccoli aneddoti che si nascondono sotto le pagine di storia.