Jackie Wullschläger

The first English language biographer to have returned to the original Danish sources, Wullshlager creates a fascinating picture of Andersen as a deeply troubled man, as far from Danny Kaye's all-singing version as it is possible to imagine. Desperately sensitive, sexually confused and socially awkward, Andersen found grace and acceptance through the creation of a distinct and beguiling literary world, becoming, as was once said of Tolkien, 'the creative equivalent of a people'. Wullschlager's achievement is to demonstrate the unity of his troubled life and and the soaring achievement of his work. He appears in this biography more various and more flawed, but also more convincing and more impressive, than ever before.

Based on thousands of never-before translated letters and unpublished sources, Jackie Wullschläger's enthralling biography is the first account of Monet's turbulent private life and how it determined his expressive, sensuous, sensational painting. Deeply moving, it immerses us in that passionate experience, transforming our understanding of the man, his art and the fullness of his achievement.

A groundbreaking look at the life and art of one of the most influential, modern painters of the late nineteenth century and founder of the Impressionist movement "Wullschl ger emerges with a strikingly different picture of the artist. Passionate, prickly, edgy and unstable, her Monet, the unrecognizable Monet, is a powerful new character in art." --The Sunday Times (London) Drawing on thousands of never-before-translated letters and unpublished sources, this biography reveals dramatic new information about the life and work of one of the late nineteenth century's most important painters. Despite being mocked at the beginning of his career, and living hand to mouth, Monet risked all to pursue his vision, and his early work along the banks of the Seine in the 1860s and '70s would come to be revered as Impressionism. In the following decades, he emerged as its celebrated leader in one of the most exciting cultural moments in Paris, before withdrawing to his house and garden to paint the late Water Lilies, which were ignored during his lifetime and would later have a major influence on all twentieth-century painters both figurative and abstract. This is the first time we see the turbulent life of this volatile and voracious man, who was as obsessed by his love affairs as he was by nature. He changed his art decisively three times when the woman at the center of his life changed; Wullschl ger brings these unknown, passionate, and passionately committed women to the foreground. Monet's closest friend was Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau; strong intellectual currents connected him to writers from Zola to Proust, as well as to his friends Manet, Renoir, and Pissarro. Brilliant and absorbing, this biography will forever change our understanding of Monet's life and work.

Published to accompany the exhibition, Leon Kossoff: A London Life, this fully illustrated catalogue examines the paintings and drawings of one of Britain’s most acclaimed living artists. With a catalogue raisonné of Kossoff’s paintings in preparation, this is an apt moment to consider his oeuvre. The publication brings together masterworks from each period of the artist’s career, demonstrating the unwavering rigour, the nuance and the psychological intensity of his output. The exhibition explores the artist’s working practice and his creative environment. The city of his birth, London has played a central role in his career and many cityscapes will be on display – from Willesden Junction to Christ Church, Spitalfields. His friends and family have also contributed to his vision and the exhibition will reflect on the relationship between the artist and his models. Together, these landscape and figure paintings will present an irrefutable argument for Leon Kossoff’s place in the canon of modern master painters. The publication has an introduction by Jackie Wullschlager (chief art critic for The Financial Times) and essays by Andrew Dempsey and Lulu Norman (writer and translator).

"... fengslende biografi ... fascinerende fra første til siste side.”UtdanningJackie Wullschlager er litteraturkritiker og kulturjournalist i avisen Financial Times. I 1995 utga hun en biografi om barnebokforfattere fra den victorianske tiden og den edwardianske perioden, "Inventing Wonderland". Biografien hennes om H.C. Andersen utkom i Storbritannia i 2000 og ble mottatt med begeistring verden over, og er blant annet oversatt til dansk. Den er skrevet i den angelsaksiske biografitradisjonen, som kjennetegnes både av sin saklige og av sin livlige formidling. Jackie Wullschlager setter dessuten med stort kulturhistorisk overblikk H.C. Andersen inn i en europeisk sammenheng. I sin bok gjør hun et stort poeng av H.C. Andersens homofile legning. Selv om Charles Perrault i Frankrike og brødrene Grimm i Tyskland før H.C. Andersens tid hadde samlet og gjenfortalt folkeeventyr som ble svært populære, var det først da Andersens "Eventyr" utkom i 1835 at en forfatter viste seg i stand til å skape nye eventyr som lignet dem som fantes i folketradisjonen. Den elegante, enkle stilen og hans store innsikt i menneskenes kår skaffet ham snart et stort publikum. I 1840-årene var han en av Europas mest berømte forfattere. I dag tilhører eventyr som Den stygge andungen og Keiserens nye klær vår felles kulturarv, like godt kjent som alle andre historier, bortsett fra Bibelen. Jackie Wullschlager mottok i 2002 H.C. Andersen-prisen for denne boken, som fikk meget positiv mottakelse i Danmark.