Petites histoires de l’histoire de l’art

Though we have regretted for a long time the lack of history of art classes in secondary school in France (contrary to Italy for example), the recurring question is how can we create an interest in a distrustful public with very little knowledge? Most probably by using light and very amusing boooks that could be used as an initiation. This short anthology of anecdotes is an example. The fake will by Bonnard in lieu of his wife? Rouchomovsky’s false scythe tiara? The case made by Merson the artist against the use of one of his works on the French banknotes? The sculpted snow statue by Falguière on the walls of the fort during the siege of Paris in 1870? Enough to open up the reader’s appetite for more...

• Petites histoires de l’histoire de l’art by Jean-Jacques Breton, Hugo & Cie, 2012, 240 p., €17.99.