Realm of Silence: Reflections on the Holocaust [Hardcover]

Elvire Coriat de Baëre (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2009

2010 BAIPA Award Winner: Best Art Book. Realm of Silence approaches the most devastating event in modern history with tenderness and beauty. In her pairing of nine oil paintings and nine poems, Elvire Coriat de Baëre has created a series of reflections with which the eye and mind may engage gently, reflections that honor life and condemn barbarity in the most human ways. In her work, we find a recognition of the darkest realities of the Second World War, yet simultaneously an affirmation of spirit and compassion, artistry dedicated to the redemption of human grace and dignity. Ms. de Baëre has combined exquisite paintings with poignant verse, bringing new expression to the heretofore silent and unheard, and illuminating the emotional depths of the tortured souls of six million dead.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Realm of Silence pairs painting and poetry to create a haunting, yet beautifully rendered narrative. We begin to go beyond seeing the photographs and knowing the facts to understanding some of what the Holocaust was about. --Erin M. Blankenship, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections, Florida Holocaust Museum

The paintings are a study in subtlety: they're stark without being simplistic, evocative without being maudlin. And they portray the unimaginable horror and death of the Holocaust without actually displaying any of it. --Joe Eskenazi, staff writer J. the Jewish News Weekly of Northern California

Through only nine paintings and the accompanying poems, Elvire Coriat de Baëre skillfully portrays the horrors of the Holocaust from its inception to its closing stage. --Isaac Jack Lévy, author, And the World Stood Silent: Sephardic Poetry of the Holocaust

The paintings are a study in subtlety: they're stark without being simplistic, evocative without being maudlin. And they portray the unimaginable horror and death of the Holocaust without actually displaying any of it. --Joe Eskenazi, staff writer J. the Jewish News Weekly of Northern California

Through only nine paintings and the accompanying poems, Elvire Coriat de Baëre skillfully portrays the horrors of the Holocaust from its inception to its closing stage. --Isaac Jack Lévy, author, And the World Stood Silent: Sephardic Poetry of the Holocaust

About the Author

ELVIRE CORIAT DE BAËRE was born in Casablanca, Morocco. She immigrated to the United States in 1956 and currently lives in Marin County, California. She received her formal training in the Old Masters technique with the late Troy Ruddick. Ms. de Baëre holds degrees in art as well as French and Spanish, and has studied at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. Numerous exhibitions of her work have been held in Paris, Montlhery, and the San Francisco Bay area. Her paintings have appeared in several publications, including Maison Française and the Artelano Design catalog in Paris, and her work was discussed in a feature article in J. the Jewish News Weekly of Northern California. Ms. de Baëre is one of twelve artists featured in the forthcoming book And the World Stood Silent: Sephardic Poetry of the Holocaust by Isaac Jack Lévy. In 2003 Ms. de Baëre was nominated for a Beryl H. Buck Award for Achievement.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Lost Coast Press; first edition (March 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1882897978
• ISBN-13: 978-1882897971
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,341,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book, March 2, 2009

By 

Muriel Haagens "Mur" (Novato, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Realm of Silence: Reflections on the Holocaust (Hardcover)

Elvire de Baere illustrates the horror of the holocaust in a delicate and sensitve way with her nine paitings and her poems. "Realm of Silence" is an outstanding book, a tribute to those who perished in the holocaust as well as to the survivors.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, March 25, 2009

By 

Roz Seiden "Roz Seiden" (Marin County, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Realm of Silence: Reflections on the Holocaust (Hardcover)

Ms. Coriat de Baere gives us a shining light of hope at the end of a tunnel filled with such overwhelming sadness. She gives us a unique understanding of this period of evil and cruelty in her own special way.

Roz Seiden
Marin County, California

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, February 13, 2009

By 

Steffy "Lee" (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Realm of Silence: Reflections on the Holocaust (Hardcover)

I had the good fortune to see this book during its creation. The artist/author chose high quality materials (like for a coffee table art book) and gave exacting specs to get the colors just right in the full-color reproductions of the paintings in the book. I find the artist's marriage of poetry with the paintings gives me an uncanny peek into the unimaginable. My feelings run the gamut: horror and despair at the Holocaust atrocities; and uplifting inspiration for the sacred trust of the memory of the victims. The images are not brutal, but subtle and somehow humane. Words don't adequately describe the experience. _Realm of Silence_ has appeared in several museum exhibitions.