THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS

Impressionism in art is so commonplace today that it's hard to realize how astonishingly revolutionary it was at its start. Author Ross King tries to show how wildly inventive and different the style was by examining the Paris art scene in the 1860s. He focuses on two painters, the ultra-realist Ernest Meissonier, who was the most successful painter of Paris at the time, and Edouard Manet, reviled in his time but a far more well-known master today. The book is informative and packed with facts. The text generally translates well to audio, but a lack of visuals, in particular key paintings, will make it hard for the uninitiated to understand changes and developments. Tristan Layton is an adept reader, but his pronunciation of French is so flawless that he says words, names, and places more quickly than American ears may be able to pick up. R.C.G. 2007 Audies Award Finalist © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/ JUL 06]