Art, architecture and photography
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Brassaï Le Paris Secret des Années 30. Extraordinary photos of the capital's nightlife in the 1930s – brothels, music halls, street cleaners, transvestites and the underworld – each one a work of art and a familiar world (now long since gone) to Brassaï and his mate, Henry Miller, who accompanied him on his nocturnal expeditions. This friendship with Miller is captured in his book Henry Miller: the Paris Years.* Henri Cartier-Bresson A Propos de Paris. Some of the greatest photos ever taken: a brilliant blend of the ordinary and the surreal, of photojournalism and art photography. Robert Doisneau Three Seconds of Eternity. The famous Kiss in front of the Hôtel de Ville takes the front cover, but there's more to Doisneau than this. A collection chosen by the man himself of photographs taken in France, but mainly Paris, in the 1940s and 1950s. Beautifully nostalgic. Norma Evenson Paris: A Century of Change, 1878–1978 (o/p). A large illustrated volume that makes the development of urban planning and the fabric of Paris an enthralling subject, mainly because the author's concern is always with people, not panoramas. Dan Franck The Bohemians – the Birth of Modern Art: Paris 1900–1930. Anecdotes and encounters from within the bohemian demi-monde that gave birth to modern art. Encompasses the Montmartre years, when Picasso hung out with Apollinaire, and the Montparnasse era of André Derain, Man Ray and the Surrealists. Matthew Gale Dada and Surrealism. Part of Phaidon's acclaimed Art and Ideas series, this stimulating account makes sense of these two revolutionary (and sometimes baffling) art movements. The author looks at works by a wide range of artists, including Duchamp, Ernst, Magritte and Dali – all amply illustrated with quality colour photographs. John James Chartres. The story of Chartres cathedral, with insights into the medieval context, the character and attitudes of the masons, the symbolism, and the advanced mathematics of the building's geometry. Edward Lucie-Smith Concise History of French Painting (o/p). If you're after an art reference book, then this will do as well as any, though there are of course dozens of other books available on particular French artists and art movements. William Mahder (ed) Paris Arts: The '80s Renaissance (o/p), Paris Creation: Une Renaissance (o/p). Illustrated, magazine-style survey of French arts. The design and photos are reason enough in themselves to look it up. * John Richardson The Life of Picasso: Vol 1 1881–1906 and Vol 2 1907–17. No twentieth-century artist has ever been subjected to scrutiny as close as that which Picasso receives in Richardson's exhaustive and brilliantly illustrated biography. The author has taken many years to complete the first two volumes, and there's a risk he'll never reach the end, but the mould-breaking years have now been covered, and it's impossible to imagine how anyone could surpass Richardson's treatment of them. Volumes 3 and 4 are in the pipeline. Willy Ronis Belleville Ménilmontant (o/p). Misty black-and-white photographs of people and streets in the two "villages" of eastern Paris in the 1940s and 1950s. Judy Rudoe Cartier: 1900–1939. Marvellous photos of the world-renowned Paris-based jeweller's creations including Art Deco necklaces, rings, bracelets, and brooches among other objets d'art. Vivian Russell Monet's Garden. An exceptional book illustrated with sumptuous colour photographs by the author, old photographs of the artist and reproductions of his paintings. Superb opening chapter on Monet as "poet of nature", plus a detailed description of the garden's evolution, seasonal cycle and current maintenance, which will delight serious gardeners. Yves St-Laurent Forty Years of Creation. Glossy pages of the best of YSL's stylish fashion photography and creations. Gertrude Stein The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas. The goings-on at Stein's famous salon in Paris. The most accessible of her works, written from the point of view of Stein's long-time lover, gives an amusing account of the artistic and literary scene of Paris in the 1910s and 1920s. Anthony Sutcliffe Paris – An Architectural History. Excellent overview of Paris's changing cityscape, as dictated by fashion, social structure and political power. Heinfried Wischermann Paris: an Architectural Guide. User-friendly guide to over two hundred Parisian landmark buildings. Each comes with a small black-and-white photo and a brief, pithy description.
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