The Drawings of Heinrich Kley (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) [Paperback]

H. Kley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dover Fine Art, History of Art | Publication Date: July 7, 1997

Irreverent, bizarre, whimsical, and mocking, Kley's pen-and-ink drawings rank among the most imaginative satirical cartoons of all time. This compilation draws upon his Skizzenbuch I and II (1909–10) to present 200 fantastic images that blend savage humor with brilliant draughtsmanship in sketches of humans, animals, and curious combinations of the two.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (July 7, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486200248
• ISBN-13: 978-0486200248
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 7.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #287,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Expressionism and its Bleak Social Commentary, July 6, 2002

By 

TastyBabySyndrome "Matthew Lewis, author of M... ("Daddy Dagon's Daycare" - Proud Sponsor of the Little Tendril Baseball Team, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Drawings of Heinrich Kley (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) (Paperback)

Heinrich Kley, an expressionist know for his work with pen and ink sketches, mostly of the black and white variety, is someone undeservedly without oceans of renown despite the fact that many of his works appear around us daily. He did have his proverbial "day in the sun," gaining notoriety for his satirical approach to world at large, but that seems to have ebbed off since his death in the 1940s and many have forgotten who this is. Well, this book is a wonderful showpiece of his works, containing two of his sketchbooks that many people have seen plenty of times but might not recognize by name, helping to revitalize the memory. Many of these works still have a lot of social merit today, taking shots at bureaucracy, militarism, and other satirical facets that we still find ourselves plagued with.

I found myself attracted to this artist because of his strangely dark overtures showpieced in this volume, with snails consuming people and giants stomping villages full of what they deem their inferiors, plus its takes on industrialism and religion. Presented with an introduction that explains the life of the artist, this editions, actually two books brought together for one showing, has a total of 200 illustrations spanning 125 + pages and makes it an excellent deal. Still, if your easily offended perhaps theme presentation will most deservedly offend you and you might want to pass on it. If you like dark humor that has deep seeded, often missed, meanings, however, you'll love Kley.
Highly Recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An underexposed classic, March 22, 2006

By 

M. Morey (Amarillo, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Drawings of Heinrich Kley (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) (Paperback)

The fact that Heinrich Kley isn't better known demonstrates the flaw in the idea that "history will sort out the great work." Kley is quite simply one of the best and most imaginative draftsmen in the Western tradition, and he is never mentioned in the standard histories of art. (I discovered him in Harvey Kurtzman's HELP! magazine in the early Sixties.) This constitutes a coup (one of many) for Dover Publications, who specialize in the dissemination of classics (famous and forgotten) in well-made, affordable editions. Anyone who cares at all about drawing should pick up this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Drawings, September 10, 2005

By 

JoAnn Lowney "Ars Longa" (Mesa, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Drawings of Heinrich Kley (Dover Fine Art, History of Art) (Paperback)

What an eye opener, what a fantastic, comical and totally genuine talent was Kley. Puts our contemporary "mark Maker" graduates of university art programs to shame. This guy did it all out of his head out of connsumate knowledge of anatomy and character. His skill with the plastic form in space is delightful to behold.