Customer Reviews

Gustav Klimt

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In the essay which introduces Klimt's landscapes, Johannes Dubai discuses, dissects and compares the artist's work, with particular reference to the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. He looks to at the symbolism in Klimt's work and the themes which dominate his paintings. The essay is illustrated in black and white. Preceding the essay is a short biography.

The plates comprise the bulk of the book, commencing on page 35 and running through to the end on page 143. There are 90 plates in total, all but nine of them in full colour. Almost all of the paintings are square in format, as is the book itself, and all of these square pictures are printed as bleed pages, the image completely filling the page. Sensibly the facing page for each painting is blank except for the title and brief details.

This is a beautifully produced book, the decision to show the paintings as bleed images seems particularly appropriate for Klimt's landscapes; the sky being in most cases totally absent from these, displaying them filling the page compliments the flat pattern or jewel like surface and almost claustrophobic effect Klimt achieves by ignoring the sky.

A splendid volume, beautifully illustrated, even the monochromes have been reproduced with care, avoiding the dense detail-lacking blacks frequently found in off-set litho of the period.

12" x 12" (30.5 cm x 30.5 cm) 143 pages. ISBN 0297793853. Published 1988

These are some inspiring works. I never knew he'd done so many landscapes. I've always admired his figurative art, but now I'm even more in awe of this very original and powerful artist. The reproductions are sharp and vibrant, and the format of the book is just right for showing these paintings.