First published 2026
Catherine Ostler traces the creation of Renoir's celebrated painting "The Pink and the Blue" and the tragic fate of its subjects. In 1881, the impressionist artist arrives at the elegant home of the Cahen d'Anvers family to paint their two young daughters. The wealthy Jewish bankers live at the pinnacle of Parisian society, hosting grand balls and socializing with aristocrats. Yet beneath the glittering surface of Belle Époque France, antisemitic currents already flow toward catastrophe. Ostler follows the family through decades of privilege and cultural prominence until the Nazi occupation destroys their world. Drawing on previously unpublished letters, diaries, and family documents, she reconstructs both the creation of one of art history's most recognizable portraits and the hidden story of a Jewish dynasty's rise and fall. The narrative encompasses famous figures from Dreyfus to Proust while revealing how wartime collaboration and betrayal shattered lives that had once embodied French elegance and success.
Genres: art, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 19th-century, art-history, jewish
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, historical-figures
Setting: France, Paris
Period: Belle Époque, Nazi Occupation
432 pages · Hardcover · Atria Books