Art and literature (french)

 Art and literature

(Literature)

Since the Middle Ages, France has enjoyed an exceptional position in European intellectual life. Though its literary culture has no single figure whose influence can be compared to that of Italy’s Dante or England’s Shakespeare, successive periods have seen its writers and their language exercise an influence far beyond its borders. 

The evolution of the nation-states and the rise in prestige of vernacular languages gradually eroded the unifying force of these relationships. From the early modern period onward, France developed its own distinctive and many-stranded cultural tradition, which, while never losing sight of the riches of the medieval base and the Judeo-Christian biblical tradition, has come chiefly to be thought of as Mediterranean in its allegiance, rooted in the imitation of Classical models as these were mediated through the great writers and thinkers of Renaissance Italy.

“Le Comte de Monte-Cristo” A classic adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo” is one of the most popular French books of all time.

(Art)

The story of Western art is a long one, and most countries have played their part; but over the centuries two countries have played a greater part in defining Western art than most; Italy and France.

In the twenty-first century, Art is one of the major attractions of France as a tourist destination. People come from all over the world to admire France's museums and art galleries, its stunning medieval architecture, its great Renaissance châteaux, its artistic and cultural heritage in general.

The following pages tell the story of art in France from the beginnings up until the dawn of the Modern age. Most of it is "French art", but some is the work of artists and architects who came from other countries to live and work in France. Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh, Picasso and many more. 

For many thousands of years, art evolved very slowly, if at all. By Roman times, it had reached a degree of sophistication, but little remains in France of Roman art beyond some fine sculpture and intricate mosaics. Not much remains either of early medieval art, most of the historic art and architecture in France dating from the past thousand years.