Publisher's Synopsis
The first retrospective monograph on Maximilien Luce (1858-1941) in nearly two decades, this publication surveys the accomplishments of this significant French Neo-Impressionist painter. Working first as a printmaker, Luce devoted himself to painting around 1880. Shortly after, in 1887, Camille Pissarro, who shared his anarchist politics, introduced Luce to the Neo-Impressionist group, which included Georges Seurat and Henri-Edmond Cross. Luce adopted the Divisionist or Pointillist method to create almost violent light effects, infusing the technique with a newfound passion at some remove from, for example, Seurat's more detached approach. From a sunset on the banks of the Seine to the flames blasting from a furnace, Luce's powerfully colorful treatment of his subjects can now be seen to have prefigured the Fauvism of Henri Matisse and Andr� Derain. The book unites nearly 80 works by the artist, including paintings that reveal Luce's fascination with Baron Haussmann's recreation of Paris.
