A thorough overview of the work of Balthus, this book, by his oldest son, offers insights that only someone close to the artist could provide. Lush reproductions present the widest selection of Balthus's work ever published. In addition, a unique photo section shows Balthus as a young artist and in his studio, nd in recent images taken by his friend Henri Cartier-Bresson. 115 illustrations, 107 in color.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Balthus is almost as famous for his reclusiveness and reluctance to divulge personal information as for his provocative paintings of young women, a fact his eldest son addresses with some pique in his introduction to this superb volume, the most extensive collection of his father's lustrous and enigmatic work yet published. Klossowski de Rola defends Balthus' insistence on privacy, then offers a few tantalizing biographical facts and a set of striking photographs of the artist. Readers are free, then, to study and interpret Balthus' intriguing, unsettling, brilliantly stylized, richly textured, and strongly composed street scenes, portraits, still lifes, and landscapes. His most famous paintings date from the 1930s and 1940s and feature, in his son's words, "languid adolescent" girls, images Klossowski de Rola insists are "untouchable archetypes of purity," but which are clearly erotic works of the highest order. Balthus, nearly 90 and still working, is a profoundly sensual painter, both in his handling of paint and in his subject matter. What's "pure" and magnificent here is the artist's sense of eroticism and immense talent. Donna Seaman
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Balthus,
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This review is from: Balthus (Hardcover)
A wonderful book, considering how little is really known about the great artist, although I wish more personal information had been forthcoming. Some personal photos of Balthus at work are also included. Authored by his son, this book attempts to dispel some of the mystery with a few photos and facts about the great man himself, yet leaves us yearning for more. However the prints of Balthus' most famous works (pubescent girls) manage to maintain the barely restrained sensuality and dreamlike quality of the original paintings - a quality usually lost in textbook prints. Here they are reproduced faithfully, and take your breath away with their sheer eroticism.
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Somewhat dissapointing,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Balthus (Paperback)
First thing, when I bought the book the edition was said to be, on the Amazon[.com] web site, Hardcover when it really was Paperback. Secondly, it was promoted elsewhere as "catalogue raisonné" when it does NOT include any comments on the paintings. Just as well the paintings are worth it by themselves...
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