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Alastair, Illustrator of Decadence
1979 Softcover. Little Musty. Some creases in covers. Minimal corner and edgewear. No markings or highlights in text, otherwise nice clean copy.
- GenresArt
100 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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June 1, 2020
This is by far the best book on Alastair, as it has an excellent 26 page essay by art dealer (and obvious Alastair lover) Victor Arwas, which translates and quotes at length various reviews and memoirs regarding the eccentric 'count'.
We learn how Alastair invented himself and presented himself as a rich nobleman dispensing largesse to his friends while spending much of his life in genteel penury, "all fur coat and no knickers" as we say up north. He was obviously talented beyond just being a great draughtsman, being an accomplished dancer and pianist as well as witty and erudite.
His eccentricity, social dexterity and seeming childlike demeanor no doubt added to his charm, (though the latter aspect also included childish tantrums), made him (rich) friends, such as Harry and Caresse Crosby, who were very supportive of him and it is surprising how many 'names' he was in the orbit of (Arthur Schnitzler for example).
But of course its the art that counts. The book reproduces about 70 images from expensive limited editions and includes a good number of previously unseen drawings from the Arwas collection.
But(!) three stars. Because; the drawings are not so well reproduced, particularly when compared to the original printings. Alastair's use of gold or silver largely disappears when reproduced in black and white so we sometimes have images where clothing and drapery seems devoid of pattern which are actually quite richly decorated. Also some of the images are enlargements of the originals and they have (just) a touch of blurriness about them. But in lieu of the original books (and with wonderful images online) this is perhaps not as big a problem as I have made it seem and the book is worth it for the essay alone.
Until we have a volume that really prints them up well (surely this is Taschen material) this is best we have. It is still an essential book for anyone interested in decadent/eccentric art and artists and it is a very reasonably priced item.
We learn how Alastair invented himself and presented himself as a rich nobleman dispensing largesse to his friends while spending much of his life in genteel penury, "all fur coat and no knickers" as we say up north. He was obviously talented beyond just being a great draughtsman, being an accomplished dancer and pianist as well as witty and erudite.
His eccentricity, social dexterity and seeming childlike demeanor no doubt added to his charm, (though the latter aspect also included childish tantrums), made him (rich) friends, such as Harry and Caresse Crosby, who were very supportive of him and it is surprising how many 'names' he was in the orbit of (Arthur Schnitzler for example).
But of course its the art that counts. The book reproduces about 70 images from expensive limited editions and includes a good number of previously unseen drawings from the Arwas collection.
But(!) three stars. Because; the drawings are not so well reproduced, particularly when compared to the original printings. Alastair's use of gold or silver largely disappears when reproduced in black and white so we sometimes have images where clothing and drapery seems devoid of pattern which are actually quite richly decorated. Also some of the images are enlargements of the originals and they have (just) a touch of blurriness about them. But in lieu of the original books (and with wonderful images online) this is perhaps not as big a problem as I have made it seem and the book is worth it for the essay alone.
Until we have a volume that really prints them up well (surely this is Taschen material) this is best we have. It is still an essential book for anyone interested in decadent/eccentric art and artists and it is a very reasonably priced item.
Displaying 1 of 1 review