Turn-of-the-century artists generally shunned the photographic medium, regarding it as a technical process inferior to the ideals of artistic creativity. In this companion catalog to an exhibition organized by the Dallas Museum of Art and traveling to San Francisco and Bilbao, curator Kosinski reveals that these artists nonetheless used photography as a tool and incorporated likenesses and Symbolist concepts from photographs into their works. Richly illustrated scholarly essays by Kosinski and other art historians examine the paintings and sculpture of 14 key artists, presenting evidence of how they employed photographs to retain a visual image; recorded works in progress or document a completed piece; stimulate inspiration; or communicated visual ideas. In this lovely volume, we learn of Steichen's artistic rapport with Rodin, Edward Degas's use of Eadweard Muybridge's motion studies, Picasso's practice of pinning photos of masterpieces to his easel, Gauguin's scenic Tahitian photos, and much more. A fascinating study recommended for all academic and comprehensive fine arts collections.
-Joan Levin, MLS, Chicago
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Kosinski directed this study of how some influential artists at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries utilized photography in their paintings and sculptures. Naturally, many artists used the medium to provide a quick sketch that would aid in the completion of a work. Other uses were much more intricate and are thoroughly analyzed here; for example, Edvard Munch sought in photography a way to reveal a subject's "inner psychic terrain." The artists discussed are Bonnard, Brancusi, Degas, Gauguin, Khnopff, Moreau, Mucha, Munch, Picasso, Rodin, Rosso, von Stuck, Vallotton, and Vuillard. The studies are rigorous but very rewarding for art enthusiasts. This book is based on what must be a mind-bending exhibit of the Dallas Museum of Art. Bonnie Smothers
See all Editorial Reviews
