L’art un parcours en 60 étapes

In France it is a hard mission to give youngsters a taste for ancient or contemporary art, since – contrary to Italy for example – art is not taught in elementary school or in high school. Here is an attempt to do it, richly illustrated but that does not try to free itself uselessly from chronological references. We therefore start with the art of the caves and move all the way up to Murakami in sixty pleasant lessons, with short texts, dealing alternatively with an event, a painting, a school, an artist… How was oil painting prepared? Why is Rembrandt’s Night watch actually a scene in full daylight? Why did Cézanne say «I wish to surprise Paris with an apple»? How does the art market function? As an extra bonus, we are asked to think about Picasso’s beautiful phrase: «It took my whole life for me to learn to draw like a child»…

•L’art, un parcours en 60 étapes, by Caroline Larroche, Gallimard, 2010, 96 p., 13,90 €