Автор: Edmond de Goncourt

If sensuality had a name, it would be without doubt Utamaro. Delicately underlining the Garden of Pleasures that once constituted Edo, Utamaro, by the richness of his fabrics, the swan-like necks of the women, the mysterious looks, evokes in a few lines the sensual pleasure of the Orient. If some scenes discreetly betray lovers’ games, a great number of his shungas recall that love in Japan is first and foremost…

Without a doubt, Katsushika Hokusai is the most famous Japanese artist since the middle of the nineteenth century whose art is known to the Western world. Reflecting the artistic expression of an isolated civilisation, the works of Hokusai, one of the first Japanese artists to emerge in Europe, greatly influenced the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters, such as Vincent van Gogh. Considered during his life as a living Ukiyo-e master, Hokusai fascinates us with the variety and the significance of his work, which spanned almost ninety years and is presented here in all its breadth and…

Provintsitüdruk Germinie tuleb Pariisi ning satub teenijannaks vanapiiga preili de Varandeuil’ juurde, kes temasse kiindub. Armastust ihkav abiellumisväljavaateta neiu pühendab kogu oma headuse ja helluse naabripoiss Jupillonile, ent lapsest sirgub mees ja Germinie armub temasse ennastunustavalt. Sellest armastusest saab Germinie hukatus. Kirjanikest vendade Edmond (1822–1896) ja Jules (1830–1870) de Goncourti romaani aluseks on nende kunagise teenijanna traagiline elukäik, millest nad kuulsid alles pärast tolle surma. Kui raamat 1865. aastal ilmus, sai see nördinud vastuvõtu…