Balthus
A Biography
Will be published approx. on 22. May 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
644 pages
978-1-56478-992-1 (ISBN)
Description
This is the first full-scale biography of one of the most elusive and enigmatic painters of our time: the self-proclaimed Count Balthus Klossowski de Rola, whose brilliant, markedly sexualized portraits, especially of young girls, are among the most memorable images in contemporary art.
Balthus's complexities are clarified and his genius understood in this book that derives its immediacy from Nicholas Fox Weber's long and intense conversations with Balthus himself-who never previously consented to discuss his life and work with a biographer-as well as Weber's interviews with the artist's closest associates. This biography was first published by Knopf in 1999 and is now available for the first time from Dalkey Archive Press.
Balthus's complexities are clarified and his genius understood in this book that derives its immediacy from Nicholas Fox Weber's long and intense conversations with Balthus himself-who never previously consented to discuss his life and work with a biographer-as well as Weber's interviews with the artist's closest associates. This biography was first published by Knopf in 1999 and is now available for the first time from Dalkey Archive Press.
Reviews / Votes
"A book that often reads like an update of one of those late novels of Henry James -- as adapted, say, by Vladimir Nabokov -- in which the narrator finds all appearances to be deceptive and every revelation is calculated to raise more questions than it answers." -- Hilton Kramer, Wall Street Journal "Weber explores Balthus's many influences, from the work of Piero della Francesca to psychoanalytic theory and his brother's fascination with the Marquis de Sade... a splendid account of a complex life and as fine an artist's biography as this season is likely to produce." -- Publishers Weekly "Probing the inner man and his work, the author partially explains the mystique that has surrounded this critically acclaimed and self-invented painter whose surreal, sexually charged images are both disturbing and haunting." -- Library JournalMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Normal, IL
United States
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 50 mm
Weight
1107 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-56478-992-1 (9781564789921)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Nicholas Fox Weber was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and graduated from Columbia College and Yale University. He has curated retrospectives of the work of Josef Albers and Anni Albers, and is the director of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. He is the author of twelve previous books. He lives in Bethany, Connecticut, and Paris.