Lessons from the Dreyfus Affair
by Gregg Chadwick Mirka Knaster on her blog posted a provocative entry today with the title "Appreciate the art but despise the artist?" I agree with Mirka and post my thoughts below as a follow up to her post. Zola's open letter "J'Accuse...!" 13 January 1898 Mirka, you pose an important question. While an undergrad at UCLA, I had classes with the noted art historians Albert Boime and David Kunzel. Boime's "Social History of Modern Art" and Kunzel's study of the history of fashion have prompted me to consider the social structures that exist around an artwork. Pulling a painting out of its time and pinning it alone in a case like a rare butterfly often leads to a limited understanding of an artwork. Degas' moral failings are problematic and are important to consider in the broader understanding of the man and the artist. The comparison between Degas and Emile Zola concerning the anti-Semitic campaign against Captain Dre...