Balthus

by Stanislas Klossowski de Rola, Balthus

This book is a thorough overview of the work of Balthus (b. 1908), the elusive painter whose fascinating images of young women were first greatly admired by the Surrealists, and have remained so today. This controversial artist is exceedingly reclusive, and until the last decade rarely gave interviews or allowed himself to be photographed. As a result, both his life and his work have been the subject of much intrigue and speculation. Now, his eldest son, Stanislas Klossowski de Rola, offers privileged insights into the art and thought of this remarkable man.
Here is the widest selection of Balthus's work ever landscapes, street scenes, still lifes, and women, from the 1930s to the present, including all his most important paintings of the last ten years. A unique collection of rare photographs presents the young Balthus in his studio, as well as in recent images taken by his friend Henri Cartier-Bresson and other photographers.
The art of Balthus - private, hermetic, evocative, mysterious - lends itself to both deep readings and simple appreciation. The artist himself has always resisted the former, remaining convinced that the paintings should speak for themselves. But, bowing to the demands of a career that has encompassed major retrospective exhibitions at the Tate Gallery, London, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, he has assisted his son in the creation of this book.

Genres: Art

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1996

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

My hope of getting some biographical and scholarly information on Balthus from this book was quickly dashed in the brief introduction, written by Balthus’ son, that declared Balthus rejected any form of biographical sharing or critical interpretation! So we just received some general thoughts and a classic defense of the controversial paintings (they are sensual and/or innocent depictions of adolescent girls, and any suggestion they are pornographic is wrong, etc.). That may be so, but the defense seemed especially banal and slapped-on considering the previous points above. The images in the book were clear, chronological, covered his entire career, and almost definitive. (The infamous Guitar Lesson, 1934 was left out because Balthus doesn’t want it to be printed, which again seems to contradict the two points above, although his son spins it as protecting the work from misinterpretation, so who knows?) Unfortunately, my library had the first edition and not the revised edition which has more works and, from what I can see in reviews, a more insightful essay. I guess I will have to turn to other books for a more critical study, regardless of what Balthus thinks of that practice!

[Sue Clancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the subject matter within the artwork that Balthus creates is not to my personal preference - I still learned more about this business of being a professional artist by reading this book and becoming aware of how another artist thinks about artwork and art careers.

[suanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

the essay is pretty short but very impactful. i admire how he loved art until the very very end and treated the act of painting as something that transcends life. not sure if i agree with his idea that his subject matter and style has no deeper meaning, it is fishy that he was so heavily influenced by eastern styles and painted a lot of nude women and rarely any nude men, reminds me of john currin

[sweet orange books · Rating 1 out of 5]

White man asking 10-11-12 years old girls to pose naked and in sexual poses = pedophile.

The fact that he is famous is an aberration.