Review:
Given that so much has been written on the Impressionists and their era, this charming volume takes a different approach and explores simultaneously the art and food of 19th-century France. As an inspired culinary and cultural account of the Impressionist era, this fun and fascinating tour through Normandy, Brittany, Provence, Fontainebleau, and Paris features an entertaining text on the artworks and lifestyles of its most famous painters--Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Morisot, Cézanne, Manet, Guaguin, and Degas, among many others. There are also 100 recipes for regional fare, emphasizing the notion that great art, like great food, should be savored. The delectable combination of food and art stimulates the senses in a surprising way, more genuinely evoking what it was like to be alive at the time of the Impressionists than any critical study I've read.
From Booklist:
Journalist Todd scrutinizes the art and fares of the impressionists, from Brazille to Sisley. Here, the human (and occasionally, humane) side of these masters stands out; for instance, Monet was an inveterate gadget guru who owned a state-of-the-art, hand-cranked ice cream machine. Gauguin was an admirable cook, though his fight with van Gogh precipitated the infamous left ear mutilation. And Renoir preferred brie only from Paris. Not as worthwhile (but nonetheless instructive) are the 100 accompanying recipes, all in the classic French tradition of high-fat cooking with butter, cream, flour, and sugar; few are streamlined for today's kitchens or stomachs. Besides, who would dare drip a spoonful of aioli on Monet's The Picnic? Barbara Jacobs
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