Gustav Klimt: Modernism in the Making [Anglais] [Relié]

In accompaniment with the exhibition held by the National Gallery of Canada comes Gustav Klimt: Modernism in the Making. This powerhouse of a book spans the life and work of the famous Austrian painter who is well-known, even now, for his dramatic work, "The Kiss." This beautiful tome includes four chapters, by four different art historians, on the background and importance of Klimt's work, plus two sections devoted to the works in the exhibition, including a page of detailed commentary on each of the paintings.

As a student, Klimt was trained in the decorative arts. He quickly became known for his blending of both high and low art styles, a rather controversial movement at the turn of the century. His graphic shapes and colors became one of his signatures and hold his paintings together like sublime art nouveau glue. Though popular enough at the time to have been commissioned to create murals and friezes for grand buildings, Klimt did not escape public criticism for the heavy sexual content of his work. Klimt's symbolic paintings about life and death are full of images of nude women, young, old or pregnant, and couples and groups intertwined. These colorful, sensual, and elegant paintings remain fascinating symbols of fin-de-siècle Europe. --J.P. Cohen

Austrian painter Gustav Klimt, whose work combined Symbolist and Art Nouveau elements, has long been popular with the general public but has had a mixed reputation among critics and art historians. Published in connection with his first North American retrospective, held at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, this volume provides an effective overview of Klimt's life and work. The essays, by scholars such as Bailey (chief curator of the Frick Collection, New York), Marian Bisanz-Prakken, and Peter Vergo, place the artist in the context of fin-de-siecle Vienna and the art historical moment. They break little new ground in Klimt scholarship but, along with the 190 full-color reproductions and illustrated chronology, are likely to be of interest to nonspecialist readers. Among the drawings reproduced are frank explorations of sexuality, including images of masturbation and lesbian encounters. While there are many other volumes on various aspects of Klimt's work available, this one offers a general biographical and art historical perspective as well as commentary on each painting reproduced. Suitable for public and academic libraries. Kathryn Wekselman, MLn, Cincinnati, OH
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Klimt's private realms and public works are the subjects of scholars and art historians, including editor Bailey and contributors Emily Braun, Jane Kallir, and Peter Vergo. In his fin de siecle Viennese milieu, Klimt responded to and enhanced the nascent influences of symbolism and art nouveau, incorporating those styles into his own distinct vision and ensuring his place within the symbolist movement. His was an oeuvre of paradoxes. He combined decorative patterning with powerful, often mysterious eroticism, and juxtaposed classically rendered faces with flattened, two-dimensional interpretations of garments flowing into dazzling background designs, an arresting approach that heralded the coming of abstract art and threaten to overwhelm the human aspect. Published to accompany the first major North American exhibit of Klimt's work--at Canada's National Gallery--this sumptuous volume covers a wide range of the artist's work, including, but by no means limited to, paintings from his best-known "golden" period, replete with preparatory drawings as well as murals and paintings. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

The most remarkable artist of late-19th-century Vienna, Gustav Klimt developed a highly personal style that combines decorative pattern with a mysterious, smoldering eroticism. This beautiful volume-the most comprehensive survey in English of the life and work of this popular artist-is the catalogue of a major Klimt exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the first Klimt retrospective in North America.

Superb reproductions of paintings and works on paper show all the phases of Klimt's career. With texts by highly respected experts who include recently discovered information about this compelling artist, the book will attract academics as well as Klimt's legions of fans.
330 photographs, 190 in full color, 240 pages, 10 x 12"

Exhibition Schedule: National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa June 15-Sept. 16, 2001

Colin B. Bailey, author of numerous books on art and artists, is chief curator at the Frick Collection in New York City.