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- Title
"A Great and Noble Painting": Léon Gambetta and the Visual Arts in the French Third Republic.
- Authors
Foley, Susan
- Abstract
Léon Gambetta (1838-1882) is remembered as a politician and orator, one of the leading architects of the Third Republic in the 1870s. He is not generally remembered as a devotee of the arts, and the fact that he established the first dedicated Ministry for the Arts in his short-lived Ministry (1881-82) is often attributed to the influence of his colleague, the art critic Antonin Proust. But Gambetta's private correspondence - especially with his lover Léonie Léon - offers a different picture. It reveals Gambetta's passion for art, his strong aesthetic preferences, and his mainstream rather than avant-garde tastes. Gambetta's commitment to the arts when in government was inspired by his own interests, not merely by the influence of others or by utilitarian considerations. In revising our understanding of Gambetta's engagement with the arts, this article highlights the benefits of examining private correspondence when considering questions of taste and aesthetics.
- Subjects
FRANCE; GAMBETTA, Leon, 1838-1882; BIOGRAPHIES of architects; 19TH century French art; FRENCH national character; EYCK, Jan van, 1390-1440; LETTERS; SALONS (Gatherings); NATURALISM in art; CLASSICISM in art
- Publication
French History & Civilization, 2011, Vol 4, p106
- ISSN
1832-9683
- Publication type
Article