Bemelmans: The Life and Art of Madeline's Creator

Although Ludwig Bemelmans is best known for his Madeline books, his creative life extended far beyond the "old house in Paris". He was a novelist and a nonfiction writer, as well as a regular contributor to The New Yorker, Vogue, Holiday, and Town & Country. He also painted murals in the bar at the Carlyle Hotel that still bears his name. Throughout his life he was a celebrated bon vivant who experienced a rich variety of places, personalities, and professions. He even sold a screenplay to MGM, and planned to collaborate on a book with First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Late in his life Bemelmans decided to pursue his lifelong desire to paint with oils. The stunning results of his efforts are showcased here in two painting sections -- one featuring his Paris paintings, the other pictures of Manhattan and its environs from his exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York. Bemelmans' fascinating life story is told through letters, photographs, illustrations, paintings, sketches, and excerpts from both his published writings and his private journals, selected by his grandson, John Bemelmans Marciano, who has also written a running text to guide the reader through Bemelmans' own words and pictures. The narrative celebrates the high times, but it also sheds light on some of the bleaker periods in Bemelmans' life and how these events influenced him and his art. The final part of the book explores his creative process while working on the Madeline sequels. This elegantly designed and lavishly illustrated book showcases Bemelmans' art and writing and illuminates the relationship between the man and his work.

"We are writing for Children but not for Idiots." Madeline's creator was a man of strong opinions, which always makes for a fascinating life. His legacy was Madeline; however, Ludwig Bemelmans was also a novelist, a muralist, a nonfiction writer, a screenwriter, an oil painter, and an all-around bon vivant. In this elegant account, Bemelmans's life story is told through paintings, sketches, letters, photographs, and excerpts from published and unpublished writings. Fans of the stories about the charmingly impetuous little orphan girl (Mad About Madeline) will be dazzled by the rest of Bemelmans's artistic body of work, as well as by his irrepressible spirit. Entertaining tidbits will amuse and amaze: once, on a trip to Germany, Bemelmans placed his cigar stub over his lip and launched into a Hitler impression near a crowd of Nazi supporters. Thinking nothing more about it, he and his wife returned to their hotel, where his wife, on a lark, painted the sleeping Bemelmans's toes pink. The next day he was arrested for his little prank. When his toenails were discovered, the police tossed him in the cell for homosexuals!

John Bemelmans Marciano, grandson of Bemelmans, provides a running text to guide the readers through Bemelmans's own words and pictures, providing a shape to the life story that will leave admirers of Madeline and her creator thoroughly satisfied. --Emilie Coulter