Anton Moonen

Anton Moonen was born in Maastricht in 1956. After his Higher School Certificate, he studied languages and art (Russian civilisation, French, German) in Zurich, Paris, Amsterdam and Munich. He has worked in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Scandinavia, Finland, Morocco and Russia as a general director, art-director, producer, head-hunter and journalist for several French media companies such as television and radio channels Canal +, France Télévisions, Europe I, and magazines Elle, Rolling Stone, Autrement, etc.

Fascinated by the irrevocable links between being and appearing, reinforced by his valuable international and multicultural experiences, he wrote his first book on snobbism, Die Welt der Snobs, published in 1999 by Reclam, Leipzig. It was followed by a Dutch (Kleine Encyclopedie van het Snobisme) and a French version (Petit Bréviaire du Snobisme), translated and adapted by the author, which were published in 2000 (Ambo, Amsterdam and L’Inventaire, Paris). In 2004 an official Portuguese and an illegal Serbian version followed. A new French (updated) re-edition and an Italian version will be published in 2007.

In 2002, Ambo published Kleine Encyclopedie van het culinair snobisme in the Netherlands: a genuine and snobbish cookbook. In 2005, Beroemd!, a philosophical and humoristic dictionary on fame was published by Cossee, Amsterdam. It will appear in German translation from Eichborn in 2007.

The publication of these books engendered several collaborations as the participation of a museum catalogue for decadent tableware, analysis of trends and products for European magazines such as Vogue, La Vie en Rose, Hide & Chic, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Luxe-Publishing.com etc. Moonen also animates conferences for universities and companies on the same themes.