Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism

From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871—Victor Hugo’s “Terrible Year”—Paris was besieged, starved, and torn apart by war and revolution. As art critic Sebastian Smee reveals, it was amid this turmoil that Impressionism took shape, born of violence, loss, and political upheaval. Through vivid storytelling, Smee follows Manet, Morisot, and Degas trapped in the city; Renoir and Bazille serving in the army; and Monet and Pissarro fleeing abroad. In the aftermath, these artists found a new awareness of life’s fragility—captured in Impressionism’s fleeting light and transient scenes.

At its heart lies the love story of Manet and Morisot, whose entwined lives defined the movement. Paris in Ruins shows how catastrophe reshaped modern art and how beauty can emerge from devastation.

• Format: Hardcover
• Dimensions: 9.4 in H | 6.4 in W | 1.2 in
• Pages: 384
• Illustrations: 8 page insert, 20 color images