Bastien Lepage

A vivid portrait of a short‑lived genius, this study follows the French painter who burst onto the art world in the 1870s with a startling honesty. From his humble beginnings in Lorraine to his rapid rise as a leading interpreter of rural life, the narrative captures his relentless quest for clear, unembellished truth on canvas. The author’s prose conveys both the fierce dedication that drove the artist and the quiet tragedy of a talent cut down at its height.

Organised into three sections—Youth, His Best Years, and His Premature End—the book is illustrated with eight full‑colour reproductions of his most celebrated pieces, from the luminous “Song of Springtime” to the stark realism of “The Hay‑making.” Each plate is accompanied by insightful commentary that reveals how his uncompromising eye rendered peasants, portraits, and landscapes with a precision bordering on the photographic, while still retaining a poetic vigor. Listeners will come away with a deeper appreciation of an artist whose brief career left an enduring, unvarnished imprint on modern painting.