
Plantations by the River
Watercolor Paintings from St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, by Father Joseph M. Paret, 1859
Louisiana State University Press
Will be published approx. on 30. March 2002
Book
Hardback
144 pages
978-0-938909-03-3 (ISBN)
Description
French priest Joseph M. Paret (1807-1872) served in the missions of Louisiana from 1847 to 1869 as pastor of the Little Red Church, located upstream from New Orleans on the east bank of the Mississippi River. During his somewhat lonely tenure, Paret sketched landscapes, architecture, and interiors, capturing everyday life in prosperous St. Charles Parish. In 1987, fifty-three watercolors were discovered -- still bound in their original sketchbook -- among his personal effects. Plantations by the River contains twenty-eight of these paintings created in or about the year 1859. Paret's insightful artwork provides a visual social history of the antebellum creole culture of south Louisiana and documents properties in addition to structures and furnishings of the period.
The book features full-size reproductions of Paret's paintings, which have been restored to their original vibrancy. The value of Paret's detailed folk art lies in the accuracy of his depiction of the region he lived in. He faithfully renders parishioners attending church, men pulling driftwood from the Mississippi River, and the edifices and flora gracing local plantations Ormond and Good Hope, among many others. The text is presented in both English and French; and as a supplement to the art, an appendix of excerpts from Mon Journal d'Amerique -- a collection of correspondence between Paret and his family -- is included.
The beautiful, brightly colored paintings of Plantations by the River are a rare discovery and provide a unique view of rural Louisiana life before the onset of the Civil War.
The book features full-size reproductions of Paret's paintings, which have been restored to their original vibrancy. The value of Paret's detailed folk art lies in the accuracy of his depiction of the region he lived in. He faithfully renders parishioners attending church, men pulling driftwood from the Mississippi River, and the edifices and flora gracing local plantations Ormond and Good Hope, among many others. The text is presented in both English and French; and as a supplement to the art, an appendix of excerpts from Mon Journal d'Amerique -- a collection of correspondence between Paret and his family -- is included.
The beautiful, brightly colored paintings of Plantations by the River are a rare discovery and provide a unique view of rural Louisiana life before the onset of the Civil War.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Baton Rouge
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 251 mm
Width: 289 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
1084 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-938909-03-3 (9780938909033)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Marcel Boyer has published several historical studies as well as Father Joseph M. Paret's Mon Journal d'Amerique. He lives in Givors, France.
Jay D. Edwards, Kniffen Professor of Anthropology at Louisiana State University, is the author of Louisiana's Remarkable French Vernacular Architecture.
Jay D. Edwards, Kniffen Professor of Anthropology at Louisiana State University, is the author of Louisiana's Remarkable French Vernacular Architecture.