L’Europe des Revues (1880–1920): Estampes, photographies, illustrations (review)

This is an ambitious international enterprise abundantly illustrated with 234 figures and 38 color plates. The aim is to make the reader rethink the entire relationship between text and image, the traditional concept of content engendered by periodicity (newspapers, magazines, reviews) and to realize that reviews do have connections with the press thanks to typography and iconography as well as being contaminated, as it were, by the book, albums or portfolios of prints. The influence of posters, the stage and the silver screen, cannot be discounted either because a page with an illustration is a hybrid form. We have been brought up to read text but paradoxically the visual aspect in general has been neglected despite the enormous progress in photomechanical reproduction. The forty chosen years of this volume cover a period of intense technological and cultural change which in turn brought about æsthetic change across Europe.

This massive volume is divided in two containing seven chapters usually with three to four contributors to each chapter. Part i deals with “The Review and its contexts” ranging from special issues of L’Illustration, the enormous impact of photography, the revival of L’Artiste founded in 1831, the educative aim of Le Japon artistique, the conservative but technically brilliant and expensive Les Lettres et les arts, Le Livre moderne and other bibliographical periodicals founded by Octave Uzanne, then on to the effect of the theatre – the end of year review, Le Chat noir, and the artistic and satirical exchanges between Paris and Switzerland exemplified by Le Sapajou. The second part is a panorama of European reviews starting with L’Hydropathe, Le Décadent, Le Panurge, Le Chat noir and La Plume. These are followed by Remy de Gourmont and L’Ymagier; Le Centaure and its English models. Chapter v deals with modernism and British little reviews: Arts and Crafts, Symbolism, Rhythm (1911–13) which, despite its title, focused on the visual arts and contemporary artists: Picasso, several others associated with Fauvism, the future Vorticist, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska and the Scottish artist Fergusson who became the artistic director. Chapter vi evokes the Polish Chimère, four Hungarian Art Nouveau periodicals, Spanish ones published at the turn of the century, and Jugend (1896–1940), wide ranging in its interests but not at all averse to satire and humor. This conspectus would not be complete without pointing out that publicity, both visual and verbal, is not neglected nor are Lacerba and Vzorval.

The general bibliography (525–51) is most impressive, the only obvious omission being the annotated edition by Jean-Jacques Lefrère of Jean Aljalbert’s Mémoires en vrac published by Du Lérot in 2005. Paul-Henri Bourrelier’s authoritative study of La Revue blanche (Fayard, August 2007) was probably too late to be included. In addition each contributor has provided a specialised bibliography. The indices are excellent. All quotations are also given in the original. The error in note 5 on p. 356 is due to the translator not having understood that Edward Marsh’s anthologies of Georgian Poetry took its name from the advent of George v.