THE INCREDIBLE PAINTING OF FELIX CLOUSSEAU

by Jon Agee ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1988

A multilevel spoof aimed at pretensions, especially in the art world: an unknown painter, Clousseau, is suddenly acclaimed as a genius and wins the Grand Prize at Paris' ""Grand Contest of Art"" when his outrageously simple painting of a duck emits a quack. But there's trouble when his other paintings also come to life and prove inconvenient to their owners: a snake frightens a baroness, a waterfall's water and a volcano's smoke invade drawing rooms, and only the fact that the king's painted dog catches a real burglar reaching for the crown saves Clousseau from prison. Agee's bold, cartoon-like illustrations are imbued with the rich, deep tones of academic painting, occasionally enlivened by the bright colors of an impressionist street-scene--apparently also the creation of our happy painter, since, in an intriguing last page, he walks into that scene as he ""return[s] to his painting."" As allegory or as imaginative flight, this should provoke chuckles--and discussion--among children as well as adults.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1988

ISBN: 0374435820

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1988

Categories: CHILDREN'S