SOLD OUT - Life in Portraits: Catherine Cusset on Hockney, Proust, and the Stories We Tell

To mark the French Library’s 80th anniversary, we are honored to welcome acclaimed novelist Catherine Cusset for an evening that bridges literature, art, and the search for lost time. In conversation with Stéphanie Ravillon, Cusset will reflect on two creative figures who have profoundly shaped her work and imagination: David Hockney and Marcel Proust.

One is known for his sensual, vibrant depictions of modern life; the other for his introspective, layered insights into love, memory, and identity. In her award-winning Life of David Hockney and her latest book, Ma vie avec Marcel Proust, Cusset explores how their work, so different in form and tone, offers readers not only aesthetic pleasure, but also insights into the essential role art plays in giving shape to our inner lives.

From her first encounter with À la recherche du temps perdu at fifteen to her latest reflections on what it means to read Proust at fifty, Cusset shows how both literature and painting can deepen our understanding of the world and ourselves. This conversation will also touch on the joys and challenges of drawing on personal experience, the nature of artistic legacy, and the enduring need to write about what matters most.

Join us for this special evening with one of France’s most celebrated contemporary authors.