L'art français sur le film

A young Sacha Guitry made a film chronicling French artists, some of which were still alive, giving us sad yet beautiful footage of aging painters struggling against physical problems to persist in their artistic pursuits.

One is Monet, whose video I originally found through Open Culture, a site that has been scouring the recent videos made publicly available by British Pathé. This was filmed later in Monet's life when he was suffering from cataracts. But you can't tell. What you notice is his clean white suit somehow surviving next to his giant palette, his tiny dog, and the picturesque surroundings that he painted so often and so memorably.

Monet, Japanese Bridge, 1899, Princeton Art Museum

Another is Renoir, the video revealing the advanced state of his arthritis which deformed his hand greatly and likely caused him an immense amount of pain. But he paints nonetheless:

Renoir, Portrait of his son (Pierre), 1910

Obscenity in 16th- and 17th-century France

Just read a fantastic article by Valerie Worth-Stylianou, "The Definition of Obscene Material 1570-1615: Three Medical Treatises Held to Account," EMF: Studies in Early Modern France 14 (2010): 148-167.