Intense repartee: a collection of letters that the critic John Berger exchanged with his artist son

Édouard Manet's repetitive depiction of cut flowers symbolizes both the affliction of his dying condition and a celebration of life, merging beauty with mortality.

John Berger found profound meaning in Manet's flowers, suggesting that they capture a unique interplay between existence and decay, urging viewers to ponder deeper existential themes.

Manet's works evoke a powerful sense of ambiguity; the cut-off stems draw us 'to the domain of the nameless', alluding to the cycle of life and death.

The correspondence between John and Yves Berger transcends conventional conversations about art, as they reflect on mortality and the beauty found in life's impermanence.

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