André Salmon – författare

André Salmon was one of the premier art critics of his day and the author of two important eyewitness accounts of early twentieth century art in France, La jeune peinture française and La jeune sculpture française. These works capture the revolutionary spirit of the period and include references and jokes of a small coterie of artists and poets that included Picasso, Guillaume Apollinare, Max Jacob, Georges Braque, and Salmon himself. This is the first English-language translation of Salmon's first two books, which serve as the primary sources on the Fauves, the Cubists, and their avant-garde contemporaries. Gersh-Ne∫ic's translation includes annotations that expand upon the period, most notably the literary references that came so naturally to Salmon. His rapport with his peers becomes transparent, providing insight into the studio banter that gave rise to some of the art work of that era, particularly Picasso's collages. The introduction calls attention to Salmon's main criteria as a critic and offers an understanding of his personal aesthetics through which we gain a better sense of his ideas and prejudices.

Trained at the École Royale des Chartes at the Sorbonne, Paul Marchegay (1812-1885) dedicated his life to publishing the rich manuscript history found in the archives in his native Anjou. Volume 1 contains a collection of important texts by religious and lay authors written about the Angevin dynasty in its early years, dating from roughly the tenth to twelfth centuries. The most important manuscript printed in this collection is the Gesta Consulum Andegavorum. It is the only printed version of this manuscript, although modern scholars consider Marchegay's edition to be of poor quality. The collection also includes the only biography written about Geoffrey 'le bel' (Plantagenet), Count of Anjou, by Jean, a twelfth-century monk at Marmoutier. This book retains an interest for modern readers because it includes rare printed manuscripts, and also because descendants of the family, the Plantagenets, became the ruling monarchy in England.