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The Banquet Years: The Origins of the Avant-Garde in France, 1885 to World War I

Roger Shattuck

4.12 · Rating details · 661 ratings · 45 reviews

The definitive chronicle of the origins of French avant-garde literature and art, Roger Shattuck's classic portrays the cultural bohemia of turn-of-the-century Paris who carried the arts into a period of renewal and accomplishment and laid the groundwork for Dadaism and Surrealism. Shattuck focuses on the careers of Alfred Jarry, Henri Rousseau, Erik Satie, and Guillaume ...more

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Paperback, 397 pages

Published June 12th 1968 by Vintage (first published 1960)

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Apr 16, 2011 AC rated it it was amazing

Shelves: modernism

(I've now reread the important chapter 11, and so will append my notes, in case they should prove useful to anyone -- apologies in advance for whatever typos/errors there are -- I don't have the patience to proofread most of the time...)

First let me say this is an excellent book - probably the best I've read so far on the topic. In addition to a detailed introduction (chs. 1-2), and an illuminating conclusion (chs. 11-12), the book contains detailed studies of the personalities and art of Henri (I've now reread the important chapter 11, and so will append my notes, in case they should prove useful to anyone -- apologies in advance for whatever typos/errors there are -- I don't have the patience to proofread most of the time...)

First let me say this is an excellent book - probably the best I've read so far on the topic. In addition to a detailed introduction (chs. 1-2), and an illuminating conclusion (chs. 11-12), the book contains detailed studies of the personalities and art of Henri Rousseau (1844-1910); Erik Satie (1866-1925); Alfred Jarry (1873-1907); Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918).

The critical chapter is chapter 11. What follows are simple notes (poorly digested, or at least carelessly thrown together -- so please excuse) from a quick reread of the chapter.

There are two keys, Shattuck thinks, to modernism -- in a formal or technical sense.

First (pp. 326-331), the 19th cen. began with a “spiritual revival”, as man began to search for the divinity within himself. The form of a work of art can imply this inward direction, as the work itself becomes the means or locus of the search. 20th cen. art has thus tended to search itself rather than exterior reality for the beauty of meaning or truth, a condition that entails relationships between author, audience, work, and world.

If all knowledge is subjective (as modern epistemologies suggests: Bergson/Coleridge), then art may come to embody its own reality (and its own infinity). It needs no external world, and indeed replaces the external world as an object of attention. Thus, literature and painting in the 20th cen. cease to be representational (or imitative) of external reality, and become instead self-sufficient creations rivaling reality.

The result is that art becomes self-reflexive and narcissistic – focusing on itself, the creative act, rather than on the world. As Alfred Jarry wrote: “Being, once rid of Berkeley’s burden, consists… not in perceiving or in being perceived, but in the iridescent mental kaleidoscope that thinks itself and of itself” (Mallarmé’s 'Ma pensée se pense'). Stendhal: “I ceaselessly ruminate on what interests me; by dint of regarding it in different positions of mind (âme), I end up seeing something new in it”. Thus, as early as Stendhal, the subject of a work is beginning to dwindle in importance before the carefully watched positions d’âme, which transform it into art. This process of transformation (for Stendhal, crystallization followed by disenchantment; for cubism, a methodical dissolution of material objects, a dissociation of visual ideas) carries all before it. The subject of a painting is not then what it started with, but what it ends up with. (Juan Gris: “To paint is to foresee what is going on in the whole composition of the painting when a certain form or color is introduced.”). Thus, artistic consciousness shrinks from the world into its own, mirrored realm.

The second key point that Shattuck makes (331ff.) concerns parataxis and hypotaxis. It is well known that archaic writers (and, in fact, this is one of the keys to archaic art generally) write paratactically. In Homeric Greek, for example, there are no subordinate conjunctions – what in later attic develop into subordinate conjunctions are simply adverbs in Homer – and so ideas and clauses and indeed, whole sections and ‘chapters’ are simply juxtaposed to one another, without any indication of the logical relations that are in play, and which the reader has to divine or intuit. If you can grasp this essential difference, then finally you will be well on your way to grasping archaic literature. The development of hypotaxis, in Greek, corresponds to the development of a huge suite – an extraordinarly large suite in Greek, as it happens – of the grammatical tricks of subordination (and hence of the subjunctive and of the use of the optative mood in subordinate clauses), which allow writers to specify with great precision precisely what are the logical relations between ideas. In philosophy, it is what allows for the development of logic, rhetoric, and advanced philosophy in Plato and Aristotle; and in literature for the structural properties of plot used by classical authors (5th cen. and later) and described by Aristotle in the poetics as the subordination of the parts to the whole in the unity of plot or mythos.

This same pattern repeats itself, by the way, in the move from early Medieval and Renaissance art to the classical art and literature in the West – starting probably with the Quattrocento in painting (perspectival painting), at least.

What Shattuck points out -- and this is the central point -- is that one of the keys to understanding modernism is precisely that the unity of classical composition (what he calls ‘transition’) breaks down again – and we return to parataxis, which he calls 'juxtaposition' (331ff.).

This compares with what William Barrett refers to (Irrational Man, 42-65) as the second of the three great “flattenings” that he identifies as being key to understanding modernism: the flattening of planes; the flattening of climaxes (with explicit reference to this problem in Aristotle); and the flattening of values. In the “flattening of climax”, the Aristotelian (classical) idea of beginning, climax, and denouement (in which the parts are subordinated structurally to the climax or to the central theme are flattened out – and everything, all the parts…, not unlike in Homer, gets its own value and spins off in its own direction. Think cubism).

The result is discontinuity – in style: surprise (Apollinaire’s word), illogicality, abruptness… obscurity; and, philosophically… Shattuck writes (338)…. the “absurd”, this “sense of life-without-links in ‘the discontinuousness of his chopped-up sentences’”, quoting Sartre’s appraisal of Camus narrative style. (Sartre, commenting on the “white” style of Camus’ L’étranger, writes: “But what is the postulate implied by this kind of narrative? It amounts to this, that out of what used to be melodic organization has been made a simple addition of invariable elements; the succession of mere movements is asserted as rigorously identical with the act in its totality…because he slyly filters out all significant connectives…”
...more

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Sep 13, 2018 ALLEN rated it really liked it

One of those marvelous books that you bump into almost by accident, or that a friend of a friend recommends you try (which is what happened to me). This influential and long-lived work by Roger Shattuck profiles four significant creative figures in fin-de-siecle France -- playwright Alfred Jarry, artist Henri Rosseau, composer Erik Satie and poet Guillaume Apollinaire -- and shows how their spirit of revolt led French culture into the Twentieth Century, modernism, a new self-awareness, and ...more

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Sep 26, 2018 Peter marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Not only does this appear to be an interesting read but this revised edition has an amazing Monty Python style cover.

Looking forward to reading it.

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Apr 07, 2008 tENTATIVELY, cONVENIENCE rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biography

Biographies of Alfred Jarry, Henri Rousseau, Erik Satie, & Guillaume Apollinaire - all creative people in Paris active from 1885 to 'WWI'. I LOVED this bk. I had just turned 22 when I read it. I was substantially familiar w/ all the characters & was engrossed by them. Satie & Jarry were both esp important to me. Rousseau & Apollinaire not so much so but still of interest. Shattuck clearly knows & loves the subject & writes about it well. The intertwining of these ...more

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Nov 07, 2007 Tosh rated it it was amazing

Excellent introduction of the eccentric artists that sort of tore a hole though turn of a century Paris. Erik Satie, Roussel (the painter), Alfred Jarry - all nutty as hell, and fantastic as well. Sort of what we call now 'outsider' artists - they lead a revolution that is still felt today.

This book was written in the 60's and still is in print. It is an extremely entertaining read and just makes you want to listen to Satie, etc.

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Sep 14, 2008 Tom rated it it was amazing

Shelves: literary-criticism, biography, history

Very nice mix of narrative, cultural commentary and critical analysis. If you have any interest in pre-war arts scene in Paris or avant-garde in general, I strongly recommend this one. A rigorous but accessible book. Shattuck writes very well. (see also Shattuck's Forbidden Knowledge)

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May 26, 2016 Stewart Tame rated it liked it

Hurm. This one was a slog. I seized a chance to read it, intending to extend my knowledge of modern art even further into the past, my previous cutoff point being Dada and Surrealism. I knew a few things about folks like Rousseau, Satie, Jarry, and Apollinaire, and wanted to know more. I did get that, but Shattuck serves it all up with thick slabs of thoroughly footnoted academic prose. Fair put me to sleep, it did. I can tolerate a certain degree of dense text in the name of learning about the ...more

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Jul 09, 2011 J. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: france, five-star, city-of-light, arts, history, modernica, surréalisme, shattuck

Apollinaire, Satie, Rousseau and Jarry. Never the central figures, not Picassos or Cezannes perhaps, but more reliable practitioners cannot be found. I don't think you get to Duchamp without these industrious kiddies setting the tone ...

A mad-hatter's tea-party, an atheist's rosy cross, a flaming arrow in the forehead of the status quo. Visit, for the logical dissonance, but stay for the majestic squalor.

Four absolute madmen and their relentless pursuit of the avant in all the itchiest, most ...more

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Jul 09, 2014 Emer Martin rated it it was amazing

I read this book every seven years to remind me what it is to be an artist.

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Jun 14, 2008 Bob rated it it was amazing

Like a foundling baby, a basket of books turned up on the doorstep of my building - who is this neighbor who discards things I would cross a river (by subway) to obtain?

I read a borrowed copy of this some years ago and mentally filed it as one of those books any decent cultural history shelf should have and yet was somehow unobtainable (Anthony Heilbut's excellent "The Gospel Sound" held a similar spot but I found that as well last year). Whether I could in fact have mail-ordered a copy from ...more

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Aug 17, 2016 Stephen B rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: proust-reading, biography-cultural-history, 2016

17th August 2016: I've started this to get a feeling for the background of Proust's work. Shattuck's introductory chapter breathlessly gallops through some of the main highlights and personages of the age, and I thought that yes, Berma must be inspired by Bernhardt (there's a brilliant recording of her performing Phèdre on YouTube, and this is performed on young Marcel's first visit to the theater, what he yearned to experience for years); Shattuck also mentions a courtesan which sounds similar 17th August 2016: I've started this to get a feeling for the background of Proust's work. Shattuck's introductory chapter breathlessly gallops through some of the main highlights and personages of the age, and I thought that yes, Berma must be inspired by Bernhardt (there's a brilliant recording of her performing Phèdre on YouTube, and this is performed on young Marcel's first visit to the theater, what he yearned to experience for years); Shattuck also mentions a courtesan which sounds similar to Odette, and a somewhat vulgar woman who ran a salon that sounds suspiciously similar to Mme Verdurin's with its "rules", and attendees being in danger of being excommunicated at any moment for a faux pas...

(Maurois in his book Quest for Proust mentions the recurring issue of people recognising themselves in the novel, who then became upset (or, in some cases I suspect, secretly pleased), and how Proust tried to persuade them his characters weren't really them: well, yes and no! )

... and I got some background on why the Prince of Wales was in Paris, and a run thru of some of the French aristocracy, who also seem to be present in one way or another. Its quite strange seeing all these people discussed in another context.

Shattuck then goes on to explore the times through four artists: Alfred Jarry, Henri Rousseau, Erik Satie, and Guillaume Apollinaire. I'll dip into this as I go along with Proust. It's so exciting and interesting! I haven't felt this engaged for years, and feel like whole new vistas are opening up, and can't wait to get stuck into this book.

----

test.

I have also continued with The Banquet Years: The Origins of the Avant-Garde in France, 1885 to World War I – I hoped to it would give me a flavor of Parisian fin de siècle, thinking it would provide a background for Proust's world. I suppose it has, but reading (so far) explorations of Henri Rousseau and Erik Satie (Jarry and Apollinaire to follow), maybe, rather, they and the milieu they inhabit stand in opposition to Proust's... Ostensibly Proust, privileged, is drawing on the past (unsurprisingly); while they, impoverished, dissatisfied, seek to break from it. But, but – its not that simple, but I struggle yet to put my finger on it, to express how I feel they seem to be revolving around one another, around the same center of gravity, maybe straining to escape one another, but… I'm not sure.

A brief word on Satie. I had no idea of how extraordinary and provocative Satie was. I had only known him for his soporific piano pieces, but wow! What an eccentric delight, what I surprise to seek out and listen to his later work, from the “invention” of background music (musique d'ameublement), to repetitive compositions that last a day or more, named, appropriately, Vexations (championed by amongst others John Cage). And it seems Satie was (also) fascinated with, and sought boredom:

"For boredom is mysterious and profound"
"Experience is a form of paralysis"

So in a sense, there is a connection with Proust there, at least for me, in my experiencing their work. Boredom occurs as much as, and often as a form of provocation, in both artists; all the while drawing me in, entrancing me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpr8m...
...more

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May 04, 2018 Sanjay Varma rated it it was ok

Shelves: abandoned, non-fiction

This book didn’t grab me immediately so I put it down. I skimmed the Introduction, and chapters on Rousseau and Satie.

In the chapter on Rousseau the only points he made are that the style was called primitivism, and Rousseau was considered to be a simpleton. The chapters on Satie emphasize that his childlike sound conceals complexities in tone, and he revealed a different style in the twilight of his career.

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Jul 29, 2014 Samantha rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-about-books, 20th-century-history, read-in-2015

Given the subject matter, The Banquet Years was surprisingly accessible. One comes away with a more nuanced picture of modernism, surrealism, cubism, and other artistic modes most commonly associated with the twentieth century through four early "avant garde" figures: Henri Rousseau, Erik Satie, Alfred Jarry, and Guillaume Apollinaire. They represent both a variety of artistic genres (painting, music, drama, poetry) and a progression through time from the late nineteenth century to the early ...more

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Sep 11, 2017 Bill Wallace rated it really liked it

Paris and art in the years between Impressionism and Surrealism through the lives and work of Rousseau, Satie, Jarry, and Apollinaire, this book tells the story of the birth of the very concept of an avant-garde. I knew something about most of these fellows, except Jarry, who may be the most interesting of the lot, a definite grand-dada of attitudes and postures that would be more familiar a couple of decades later. In general, I preferred the chapters about the men's lives to the chapters about ...more

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Jul 06, 2007 Katievida rated it it was amazing

I go back to this book when spirits are low and my nostalgia needs to be met by descriptions of another place and time-namely Paris during the turn of the 20th century. Descriptions of Henri Rouseau and Eric Satie are flawless and read in certain passages with more of a narrative concern than for the sake of historical accuracy. It's as if its author transcends his subject matter for more romantic notions of the characters that made Parisian bohemia a idea of longing for generations to follow. ...more

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Jul 07, 2016 Rhonda added it

Shelves: reading-around-the-world

This book was a challenge for me to read because I was largely unfamiliar with the era and these four individuals. I read a hard copy of the book and referenced my iPad frequently to get more detail, see examples of their work, try to get a better understanding of the whole scene.

Ultimately very definitely worth the effort. MUch to my surprise and delight, I'm very much an Erik Satie fan now, nice result that makes me happy I took the time to read this one.

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Sep 18, 2012 Suzanne rated it liked it

Oh artists! Never has such a flattering portrayal of the rat-infested, syphilis spawning, opiate hazed backwaters of turn of the century Montmarte been written. Clearly Shattuck wishes he was born into la vie boheme than his own time. That being said, past the ass kissing is some interesting details on the often eccentric and brilliant men who ushered the avant garde into our 20th century consciousness. Yahoo!

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Nov 01, 2012 Laurel rated it really liked it

Fascinating history of an exciting time for art, literature, music and drama. Shattuck chooses four representatives from each of those fields to illustrate the era: Henri Rousseau, Guillaume Apollinaire, Erik Satie, and Alfred Jarry. If you loved the characters of the Belle Epoque in Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" this will give you a fascinating look into the main players of that time.

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Jun 04, 2010 Lori rated it it was amazing

Am reading this for the third time and listening to Satie, dreaming into rousseau, and wrote two papers on Jarry, and ready to rediscover Appolinaire.

These are the four figures of the Belle Epoque who went on to influence Modernism so much.

Read it the first time while living in Paris.

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Jun 04, 2008 CathyD rated it it was amazing

Stories of poets that only eat white foods? An artist that is consistently made fun of, even invited to the center of government as a joke? The advent of background music? This book has everything. It's funny. It's smart. It's even a fast read. I would recommend it 100%.

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Jan 31, 2013 Dean rated it it was amazing

Pretty cool book, but it was dense in quite a few spots. But I learned so much about these four characters - definitely worth the effort. I likely will revisit this book to refresh my memory regarding what these artists accomplished.

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Sep 16, 2010 Keith rated it really liked it

a really insightful read about an intimidating subject. Shattuck effortlessly keeps pace with the tumultuousness of Paris at the turn of the century, and provides the context for its emerging art scene. i learned a lot!

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Jul 19, 2008 Deena rated it really liked it

I have finished the bios on Eric Satie and Alfred Jarry. The eccentricities! Also, the first chapter on the time period is excellent. How I wish (in some ways) that I was in Paris during the turn of the century at the cafés and salons.

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Jun 09, 2008 Walid marked it as to-read

Shelves: sitting-on-my-nyc-physical-shelves

read the part on jarry for a paper back in college and i loved it. i guess i should read the rest now.

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Jul 30, 2011 William West added it

Fun portrait of artists whose work, particularly that of Satie, I've always enjoyed.

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Jan 05, 2015 Jennyb rated it liked it

Shelves: artfully-done, reading-france

This was somewhat difficult to get through, but the thesis is interesting: using authors, musicians and artists to demonstrate how their art defined the ethos of an age. It was worth finishing.

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Feb 10, 2008 Andrew rated it it was amazing

Worth reading again every once in awhile.

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Jul 17, 2008 Jonathan rated it liked it

Interesting stories about 4 artists. Their lives were much cooler than their art.

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Apr 03, 2013 Fred Sampson rated it it was amazing

Brilliant critique of four major contributors to the French avant-garde. Glad I waited to read it until I could really appreciate the history and backdrop of Paris.

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