This book was brought to my attention by a reading group in the Washington DC group organized by some fellow alumnae of Emma Willard School. I wasn't up for reading it a few months back but then got a copy. There's a lot of good reasons to read this book--I teachd Valadon in modernism, always have, but she is difficult to fit into the world of French art stylistically as she is not abstract or cubist in structure or expressionist in color. She was famously the mother of Maurice Utrillo, whose art I also at least make passing reference to, but not much more.
It's a romanticized biography and determined hagiography. The author Catherine Hewitt is determined to find a pedestal high enough to lift Valadon's tiny figure above the fray. While that makes good reading, it is not always good scholarship and I was much discomfited by parts that seemed more imaginative than authoritative.
It's a romanticized biography and determined hagiography. The author Catherine Hewitt is determined to find a pedestal high enough to lift Valadon's tiny figure above the fray. While that makes good reading, it is not always good scholarship and I was much discomfited by parts that seemed more imaginative than authoritative.
Here's my review on my list:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...