Olympia: Paris in the Age of Manet

This is a marvelous book and a great companion to Ross King's "Judgment of Paris". Friedrich's serendipitous approach means one is never sure what he's going to examine next: is this sentence about Offenbach going to lead to a whole exposition of that composer's place in 19th century French music and society? Is Manet's syphilitic condition going to be mentioned in passing or is the author going to expound on the origins of the disease, its treatments at the time and its ghastly symptoms, pre antibiotics? Friedrich is hardly attention-deficit though, he treats each subject with due care and unearths all kinds of interesting historical tidbits. Manet is the connecting theme throughout and his life is examined closely as are the travails and triumphs of his impressionist followers: Degas, Morisot, Monet, Pissarro at al. Highly recommended.

This book is a fascinating and fun read about the people and culture of Manet's time. It may not be for someone looking for technical historical accuracy or for an indepth review of Manet the artist, but if you're looking to learn about this period of time and enjoy the ride, this one's for you.