Catherine Hewitt

Catherine Hewitt's richly told biography of Suzanne Valadon, the illegitimate daughter of a provincial linen maid who became famous as a model for the Impressionists and later as a painter in her own right. In the 1880s, Suzanne Valadon was considered the Impressionists’ most beautiful model. But behind her captivating façade lay a closely-guarded secret. Suzanne was born into poverty in rural France, before her mother fled the provinces, taking her to Montmartre. There, as a teenager Suzanne began posing for—and having affairs with—some of the age’s most renowned painters. Then Renoir caught her indulging in a passion she had been trying to conceal: the model was herself a talented artist. Some found her vibrant still lifes and frank portraits as shocking as her bohemian lifestyle. At eighteen, she gave birth to an illegitimate child, future painter Maurice Utrillo. But her friends Toulouse-Lautrec and Degas could see her skill. Rebellious and opinionated, she refused to be confined by tradition or gender, and in 1894, her work was accepted to the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, an extraordinary achievement for a working-class woman with no formal art training. Renoir’s Dancer tells the remarkable tale of an ambitious, headstrong woman fighting to find a professional voice in a male-dominated world.

The Secret Life of Suzanne Valadon

Renoir's Dancer

A fantastically readable biography of a 19th-century Parisian courtesan who harbours an incredible secret.

The 19th-Century Courtesan Who Built an Empire on a Secret

The Mistress of Paris

"Comtesse Valtesse de la Bigne was a celebrated nineteenth-century Parisian courtesan. She was painted by Manet and inspired Emile Zola, who immortalized her in his scandalous novel Nana. Her rumored affairs with Napoleon III and the future Edward VII kept gossip columns full. But her glamorous existence hid a dark secret: she was no Comtesse. She was born into abject poverty, raised on a squalid Paris backstreet; the lowest of the low. Yet she transformed herself into an enchantress who possessed a small fortune, three mansions, fabulous carriages, and art that drew the envy of connoisseurs across France and Europe. A consummate show-woman, she ensured that her life--and even her death--remained shrouded in just enough mystery to keep her audience hungry for more. Catherine Hewitt's biography, The Mistress of Paris, tells the forgotten story of a remarkable French woman who, though her roots were lowly, never stopped aiming high."--Provided by publisher.

‘Art is a Tyrant recounts [Bonheur’s] life with no little brio.’ Michael Prodger, The Times Books of the Year 2020 '[A] diligently researched, beautifully produced and insistently sympathetic biography.' Kathryn Hughes, Guardian A new biography of the wildly unconventional 19th-century animal painter and gender equality pioneer Rosa Bonheur, from the author of the acclaimed Mistress of Paris and Renoir's Dancer. Rosa Bonheur was the very antithesis of the feminine ideal of 19th-century society. She was educated, she shunned traditional ‘womanly’ pursuits, she rejected marriage – and she wore trousers. But the society whose rules she spurned accepted her as one of their own, because of her genius for painting animals. She shared an intimate relationship with the eccentric, self-styled inventor Nathalie Micas, who nurtured the artist like a wife. Together Rosa, Nathalie and Nathalie’s mother bought a chateau and with Rosa’s menagerie of animals the trio became one of the most extraordinary households of the day. Catherine Hewitt’s compelling new biography is an inspiring evocation of a life lived against the rules.

The Unconventional Life of Rosa Bonheur

Art is a Tyrant

Prawdziwa historia Valtesse de la Bigne – XIX-wiecznej kurtyzany, która swoim wdziękiem potrafiła oczarować każdego mężczyznę Valtesse de la Bigne była słynną XIX-wieczną kurtyzaną, która podbijała paryskie salony. Modelka Maneta i muza Zoli uwieczniona w skandalicznej powieści „Nana”, na stałe gościła w kolumnach plotkarskich. Mówi się, że uwiodła przyszłego króla Edwarda VII i Napoleona III, a żaden mężczyzna nie mógł oprzeć się jej urokowi. Jednak hrabina ukrywała przed wszystkimi wstydliwy sekret – swoje pochodzenie. Urodziła się w skrajnej nędzy w paryskim zaułku, gdzie od najmłodszych lat doświadczała głodu. Dzięki niezwykłej urodzie i sprytowi szybko zrozumiała, że droga na szczyt wiedzie przez alkowy wpływowych mężczyzn. Biografia autorstwa Catherine Hewitt to historia niezwykłej kobiety, która mimo niskiego urodzenia, zawsze mierzyła wysoko. Sposoby, jakimi się posługiwała by zdobyć sławę i bogactwo, zaskakują do dziś i bez wątpienia zawstydziłyby niejedną współczesną celebrytkę.

Prawdziwa historia kurtyzany, która zbudowała imperium na kłamstwie

Paryska kochanka

A new biography of the wildly unconventional 19th-century animal painter and gender equality pioneer Rosa Bonheur

Art Is a Tyrant

An illustrated history and explanation of the beliefs and practices of Buddhism.

Catherine Hewitt

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