{"id":9085,"date":"2020-11-01T17:45:18","date_gmt":"2020-11-01T22:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=9085"},"modified":"2020-11-01T17:46:47","modified_gmt":"2020-11-01T22:46:47","slug":"review-of-human-bondage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2020\/11\/review-of-human-bondage\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Of Human Bondage"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve had this experience a lot lately. Maybe you have too. You reread a book that you once admired only to discover that it doesn’t resemble in the least what you remember about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I originally read Somerset Maugham<\/a>‘s Of Human Bondage<\/em>, I thrilled at Maugham’s description of Bohemian Paris where we follow the young protagonist studying painting. The atelier discussions about Impressionism and Academic art were compelling. Maugham’s story was vivid and true to life, it seemed to my highschool self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more<\/span>Stephen Pentak at Bonfoey<\/span><\/a><\/div>

Now, several decades on, the aesthetic discussions are unbearably trite. Even so, Maugham’s judgments are still the art world’s received wisdom. One hundred years later, they’re the commonplaces that you find in every chapter of the Undergraduates Big Book of Art History.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s worse are the moral judgments many of the characters make: there is no right or wrong, or sin. Such full-throated hedonism is only possible when the culture is stable. The 20th Century demonstrated that without morality, ideology becomes triumphant. Against the ideological state, there is no freedom and no innocence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more<\/span>Cleveland Museum of Art Staff Exhibition<\/span><\/a><\/div>

In defense of Maugham, the Parisian art world portion of the novel is minor. The main story arc is elsewhere. My reading is, therefore, eccentric. Because of my particular interest, I am abandoning my plan to reread his Moon and Sixpence<\/em> novel, which is based on the life of the painter Gauguin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interesting to note that Maugham was a British spy for some period of this life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Maugham\"
Maugham<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve had this experience a lot lately. Maybe you have too. You reread a book that you once admired only to discover that it doesn’t resemble in the least what you remember about it. When I originally read Somerset Maugham‘s Of Human Bondage, I thrilled at Maugham’s description of Bohemian Paris where we follow the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":9086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[108,332,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-grumpy-review","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/s.maugham.jpg?fit=474%2C639&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9093,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2020\/11\/working-quietly-in-the-corner\/","url_meta":{"origin":9085,"position":0},"title":"Working quietly in the corner","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"November 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage, the protagonist studies painting for two years in an atelier school in Paris. At the end of that time, he screws up his courage to ask the master if he actually has talent. The master tells him that his talent is modest; he will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "anecdotes"","block_context":{"text":"anecdotes","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/anecdotes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/blue-brush-3.jpg?fit=700%2C388&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/blue-brush-3.jpg?fit=700%2C388&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/blue-brush-3.jpg?fit=700%2C388&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/blue-brush-3.jpg?fit=700%2C388&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2136,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2013\/06\/bad-boy-my-life-on-and-off-the-canvas-by-eric-fischl\/","url_meta":{"origin":9085,"position":1},"title":"Review: Bad Boy: My Life On and Off the Canvas by Eric Fischl","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"June 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The contemporary figurative artist Eric Fischl has written, with the aid of\u00a0 Michael Stone, his autobiography--Bad Boy: My Life On and Off the Canvas. Because Fischl's work stands to the side of several currents in contemporary art, he has a (mild) reputation as a rebel. His lifestyle, according to this\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5087,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2015\/05\/book-review-the-war-of-art\/","url_meta":{"origin":9085,"position":2},"title":"Book review: the War of Art","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"May 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Steven Pressfield's the War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles \u00a0offers pop psychology advice to struggling writers and artists.\u00a0Pressfield is most known for his novel and film \u00a0The Legend of Bagger Vance.\u00a0Before reading this book on my Kindle, I'd read nothing by the author.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5086,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2015\/05\/the-new-whitney\/","url_meta":{"origin":9085,"position":3},"title":"The new Whitney","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"May 17, 2015","format":"link","excerpt":"The new Whitney. The Whitney Museum recently opened its new digs in Chelsea. My first (tiny) apartment in New York was in Chelsea (20th & 8th), of course, that was before Chelsea became an art center.\u00a0I plan to pay my first visit this summer. I read a slashing review, A\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art Museums"","block_context":{"text":"Art Museums","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-museum\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6783,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2017\/02\/studio-journal-22117\/","url_meta":{"origin":9085,"position":4},"title":"Studio journal 2\/21\/17","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"February 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"I've always approached painting as a process of carving away and revealing, the way I imagine a sculptor approaches sculpting. \u00a0Not modeling but\u00a0carving. \u00a0I bring this up because this unfinished painting,\u00a0Sub Rosa,\u00a0is a pretty good example of my approach. \u00a0 There are many ways to talk about painting, of course.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "aesthetics"","block_context":{"text":"aesthetics","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/aesthetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/studio-2017-2-19.gif?fit=800%2C492&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/studio-2017-2-19.gif?fit=800%2C492&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/studio-2017-2-19.gif?fit=800%2C492&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/studio-2017-2-19.gif?fit=800%2C492&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9338,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2021\/03\/review-killing-commendatore\/","url_meta":{"origin":9085,"position":5},"title":"Review: Killing Commendatore","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"March 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I became familiar with the Japanese author Haruki Murakami during my current fiction-gorging phase. How could I have been unfamiliar with such a gifted author? It's not an excuse but I go through long periods during which I don't read fiction. Murakami's style is first-person intimate heightened with surrealism; all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "aesthetics"","block_context":{"text":"aesthetics","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/aesthetics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Mara.jpg?fit=474%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Gw6F-2mx","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}