The plant (Zola)

Breakfast in the countryside by Édouard Manet

The work (French: L'œuvre ) is a novel by Émile Zola and also the 14th volume of the twenty-volume Rougon-Macquart cycle . It first appeared in sequels in the magazine Gil Blas in 1885 . The book edition followed in 1886 by Charpentier. The novel describes the Parisian art scene and the emergence of impressionism at a time when this style was rejected by art experts. The main character Claude Lantier has similarities with Paul Cézanne . Cézanne thanked Zola in a formal letter for sending the novel and ended his friendship with the writer. The fictional character Pierre Sandoz shows parallels to Zola. The picture at the center of the plot is similar to that painted by Édouard Manet in 1863, Breakfast in the Green . Another described in the novel image is the painting Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet very similar. Claude Lantier is the first son of Gervaise Macquart and Auguste Lantier from the novel The Happiness of the Rougon Family . In The Blackjack , he comes to Paris with his parents and later returns to Plassans after finding a wealthy patron of his arts. In The Belly of Paris he appears in a supporting role in the market halls , where he is looking for motifs.

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The painter Claude Lantier paints in an impressionist style. He dreams of being able to exhibit his works in the Louvre . But the selection jury of the Académie des Beaux-Arts repeatedly rejects his works. His painting techniques are not accepted, and his naked women are seen as indecent. Claude's best friends are the writer Pierre Sandoz and the architect Louis Dubuche. The three already know each other from their childhood in the fictional small town of Plassans . You came to Paris with big plans , but only Sandoz succeeds as a scandal writer. Claude meets Christine Hallegrain in a thunderstorm night. He lets them spend the night in his quarters. Christine wants to take up a job as a companion of a wealthy old lady in Paris and was not picked up from the station due to a train delay. Claude paints a scene on the Seine with an unclothed woman in the center. He persuades Christine to model for him. They fall in love and become a couple. They move to the country, where life is cheaper and where Claude hopes to find inspiration. Soon afterwards their son Jacques was born. But Claude increasingly realizes that he cannot meet the high demands that he places on his painting. He works more and more obsessed with the picture. He becomes indifferent to his wife and son. They are just extras that he sometimes uses as models. The family moves back to Paris. Claude forbids Jacques to be loud. Jacques is having trouble at school. He gets sick and dies. Claude also paints the body of the dead son. Through the mediation of a friend, the picture arrives at the Louvre exhibition on the path of grace, but is placed there so inconveniently in a high room close to the ceiling that the motif can hardly be recognized. Christine suffers from the situation and fears for her husband. Sandoz tries to help Claude too. But the artist hangs himself on his easel.

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Full text at Gutenberg.de