The Impressionists and Their Legacy

The documents in this book -- letters and recorded comments by the artists themselves, as well as selections by notable contemporaries including Baudelaire, Zola, Valery, Mallarme, Huysman, Laforgue and Proust -- show how artists and critics during and in the aftermath of Impressionism did describe themselves: how they responded to tradition, to each other and to the kaleidoscope of the contemporary scene. The ever-expanding interpretation of Impressionism and its legacy within the changing world of twentieth-century art and art criticism is examined through the writings of artists such as Leger, Kandinsky, Masson, Matisse, Bataille, Klee and Hofmann as well as recent critics, philosophers and art historians. Accompanying the texts are 235 color plates of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces, and 242 black and white reproductions of historical photographs, original documents, contemporary cartoons, prints and drawings. - Jacket flap.