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Bel-Ami
An adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s novel
Medium | French novel

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Summary

A former non-commissioned officer, Georges Duroy is employed in the offices of the Chemins de fer du Nord in Paris. He meets a former army comrade, Charles Forestier, who has become an editor at the newspaper La Vie française. At an evening event organised in the presence of the director of the magazine, Georges is hired. He has to hand in a column for the next day. Madeleine, Charles Forestier's wife, helps him write his articles. But Georges Duroy's ambition is boundless, he is jealous of his entourage and will take advantage of his charm with women...

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Summary

A former non-commissioned officer, Georges Duroy is employed in the offices of the Chemins de fer du Nord in Paris. He meets a former army comrade, Charles Forestier, who has become an editor at the newspaper La Vie française. At an evening event organised in the presence of the director of the magazine, Georges is hired. He has to hand in a column for the next day. Madeleine, Charles Forestier's wife, helps him write his articles. But Georges Duroy's ambition is boundless, he is jealous of his entourage and will take advantage of his charm with women...

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Artworks

L. Guilmin, Nouveau plan de Paris monumental, card, 1890. 53,3 cm x 72,3 cm. ©Geographicus Rare Antique Maps

Auguste Renoir, Le Pont Neuf, painting, 1872. Oil on canvas. 75,3 cm x 93,7 cm. Ailsa Mellon Bruce Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington. ©National Gallery of Art

Anne Louis Girodet de Roucy Trioson, Portrait d’un jeune homme chasseur, painting, 1811. Oil on canvas. 65 cm x 54,4 cm. Louvre, Paris. ©Meisterdrucke

Claude Monet, Quai du Louvre, painting, 1867. Oil on canvas. 65,1 cm x 92,6 cm. Kunstmuseum Den Haag, La Haye. ©Mauritshuis

Gustave Caillebotte, L’homme au balcon, painting, 1880. Oil on canvas. 116 cm x 97 cm. Collection privé. ©Wikiart

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Gustave Caillebotte, Vue de toits (Effet de neige), painting, 1878. Oil on canvas. 64 cm x 82 cm. Musée d’Orsay, Paris. © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Franck Raux

Gustave Caillebotte, Rue de Paris, temps de pluie, painting, 1877. Oil on canvas. 212 cm x 276 cm. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. ©Wikiart

Gustave Caillebotte, Portrait de Jules Dubois, painting, 1885. Oil on canvas. 117 cm x 89 cm. Collection privé. ©Wikiart

Felix Jasinski, Salle de rédaction du Journal des débats en 1889, 1890. Héliographie d’après une painting de Jean Béraud. 24,2 cm x 39,2 cm. Achenbach Foundation, Pologne. © Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts

Albert Lynch, Portrait of an elegant lady, painting. Oil on canvas. 46,4 cm x 66 cm. Collection privé. ©Wikiart

Gustave Caillebotte, Henri Cordier, painting, 1883. Oil on canvas. 65 cm x 82 cm. Musée d’Orsay, Paris. ©RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

Edouard Manet, Le journal illustre, painting, 1879. Oil on canvas. 61,2 cm x 50,7 cm. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. ©Wikiart

Gustave Caillebotte, Jeune Homme à sa fenêtre, painting, 1875. Oil on canvas. 82 cm x 117 cm. Collection privé, New-York. ©Wikiart

Ary Scheffer, La Mort de Géricault, painting, 1824. Oil on canvas. 38 cm x 46 cm. Musée de la Vie Romantique, Paris. ©Paris Musées

Gustave Caillebotte, Le Pont de l’Europe, painting, 1881-1882. Oil on canvas. 125 cm x 181 cm. Collection particulière. Petit Palais, Génève. ©Elton Luz

Jean Béraud, Une soirée, painting, 1878. Oil on canvas. 65 cm x 117 cm. Musée d’Orsay, Paris. ©RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

Henri Gervex, A la République française, painting, 1890. Oil on canvas. 145 cm x 217 cm. Musée d’Orsay, Paris. ©RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

Gustave Caillebotte, Un Balcon, Boulevard Haussmann, painting, 1880. Oil on canvas. 67,9 cm x 61 cm. Private Collection. ©Wikiart

Jean Béraud, La soirée mondaine (ou Hommage à la mariée), painting, 1878. Oil on canvas. 50 cm x 73 cm. Private Collection. ©Wikiart

Jean Béraud, Parisienne sur la place de la Concorde, painting, 1885. Oil on canvas. 47,7 cm x 39,8 cm. History of Paris. Musée Carnavalet, Paris. ©Paris Musées

Pierre Auguste Renoir, Danse à la ville, painting, 1883. Oil on canvas. 180 cm x 90 cm. Musée d’Orsay, Paris. ©RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / DR

Jean Béraud, Autour du piano, painting, 1885. Oil on canvas. 35 cm x 27 cm. History of Paris. Musée Carnavalet, Paris. ©RMN-Grand Palais / Agence Bulloz

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Jean Béraud, Dîner aux Ambassadeurs, painting, 1880. Oil on canvas. 37,5 cm x 45 cm. History of Paris. Musée Carnavalet, Paris. ©Paris Musées

Jean Béraud, Le théâtre du Vaudeville, painting, 1889. Oil on canvas. 37,5 cm x 53,2 cm. History of Paris. Musée Carnavalet, Paris. ©Paris Musées

Jean Béraud, Après la faute, painting, 1885-1990. Oil on canvas. 38,1 cm x 46 cm. On loan from Tate: Presented by Mlle Emilie Yznaga. National Gallery of Art, Washington. ©ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2005

Gustave Caillebotte, Homme au balcon, Boulevard Haussmann, painting, 1880. Oil on canvas. 117 cm x 90 cm. Private Collection. ©Wikiart

Gustave Caillebotte, Le Boulevard des Italiens, painting, 1880. Oil on canvas. 54 cm x 65 cm. Private Collection. ©Wikiart

Jean Béraud, L’attente, rue de Chateaubriand, à Paris, painting, 1890. Oil on canvas. 56 cm x 39,5 cm. Musée d’Orsay, Paris. © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Franck Raux

Caillebotte

Gustave Caillebotte, Portrait d’un homme, painting, 1880. Oil on canvas. 65 cm x 82 cm. Private Collection. ©Wikiart

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Henri Gervex, Le mariage des Mathurin Moreau dans l’hôtel de ville de Paris, painting, 1881. Oil on canvas. 65 cm x 82 cm. Private Collection. ©The Bridgeman Art Library

Victor Gabriel Gilbert, Une soirée élégante, painting, 1890. Oil on canvas. 45,7 cm x 37,2 cm. Private Collection. ©Wikiart