Art’s Importance in Times of Oppression, A Revolutionary’s Take

Man at the Crossroads by Diego Rivera

Until reading Barbara Kingsolver’s fictional novel La Lacuna, I would never have envisioned Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky, French surrealist author André Breton, and Mexican muralist and painter Diego Rivera as part of the same squad. Their commitment to Marxism drew these three extraordinary men together and, for a brief period,…

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Théophile Gautier’s Petulant Rats of the Paris Opera

Ballet at the Paris Opéra, Edgar Dégas

Last week I wrote about Edgar Degas’ most renowned sculpture, La Petite danseuse de quatorze ans. Degas’ portrayals of 19th-century dancers give us a window into the lives of young female professionals—a circumstance that was exceedingly rare. Referred to as rats, these budding ballerinas played a secondary and less desirable…

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Edgar Degas’ Little Dancer and the Artifice of Virtue

Bronze copies of Degas' wax dancers

I clearly remember my first exposure to Edgar Degas’ wax sculptures of ballerinas. As a high school graduation gift, my parents sent me on a student trip to France. At 18, I’d heard of the word Impressionism and, being an avid student of dance, I’d seen some of Degas’ behind-the-scenes…

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Awesome Gift for Francophiles who Love Paris and Photography

L'éléphant-colosse du Moulin Rouge, 1900, anonymous

I have a small stack of French-related coffee table books that I’ve wanted to review for months but waited until December since I think they’d make great gifts. Today’s post was intended to supplement a previous piece, 35 Sensational Reads for the Francophiles on your Gift List. When I sat…

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Stories of French Adolescence and History that Many Want to Forget

Le refugié, by Felix Nussbaum

If you follow my blog, you’ve probably recognized that I have a penchant for sobering literature. While feel-good stories aren’t exactly banned from my shelves, most of what I read is either nonfiction or historical fiction that sheds light on a troubling period in human history. Likewise, when it comes…

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France’s Dirty Indochina War & Whistleblower Jacques Despuech

1 Piastre Bank Note

Last week I wrote about a financial scandal that bilked the French people out of massive sums of money and slowed France’s economic recovery after World War II. Through a series of government-approved transactions, moving money from Saigon to mainland France, the French people inadvertently funded the weaponization of the…

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The Surprising Bilking of a Nation, The Piastres Affair

500 Piastres Bank Note

In the novel, Le Grande Monde, by Pierre Lemaître, part of the story anchors on a true financial scandal that bilked the French people out of massive sums of money and slowed France’s economic recovery after World War II. Through a series of government-approved transactions, moving money from Saigon to…

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Victor Hugo’s Lifelong Crusade to Kill the Death Penalty

Prisoner being led to the guillotine

Urgent While writing this post, I learned that Marcellus Williams is scheduled to be executed on September 24, 2024. His case is highly unusual because even the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County, Wesley Bell, has been filing appeals to vacate Williams’ conviction and subsequent death sentence. Last week, Judge…

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