- Hardcover: 440 pages
- Publisher: Thames and Hudson; illustrated edition edition (Mar 28 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 050023826X
- ISBN-13: 978-0500238264
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 16 x 4.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.2 Kg
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#208,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9 in Books > Arts & Photography > Artists, A-Z > ( J-L ) > Klimt, Gustav
- #71 in Books > History > Europe > Austria
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Emerging in the "joyful apocalypse" that was 1900s Vienna, Gustav Klimt embodied the contradictions of a time when Austria's new moralistic fervor and its rising nationalism existed alongside Vienna's decadent demimonde. Metzger's book focuses on Klimt's experiences as an artist, tracking his development from president of the Viennese Secession to his mentorship of Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele, as well as tracing his movements from historicism through naturalism to modernism. Though the book touches only lightly on Klimt's personal life, the scandalous nature of his work, his illegitimate children and the haremlike working conditions of his studio, it provides a detailed portrait of the changes and inconsistencies that defined Vienna at the time, when Secessionist principles of freedom from artistic judgment met simultaneous demands for high standards and the "parallel pursuit of collectivity and individuality." The substantial volume also contains hundreds of reproductions of Klimt's works on paper, many of them previously unpublished; though the reproductions are small, they give readers an excellent sense of Klimt's expressionist line, his mosaic-like use of color and his interest in portraits and female nudes. This superior collection of images provides fresh insight into Klimt's aesthetics and the trends and times from which they emerged. (Apr. 24)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Book Description
There can be no doubt about Klimts greatness as a draughtsman. Remarkable above all is the intensely sensual mood that he establishes in his limpid, fluid drawings and watercolours. Rainer Metzger brings together hundreds of Klimts works on paper in a way that enriches our knowledge of the artist and enhances the visual impact of his oeuvre. Many revolve around Klimts taboo-breaking main themes the naked woman, erotica and homoerotica while others provide allegorical and historical insights. Between these two poles lie Klimts elegantly direct preparatory sketches and studies, tirelessly and manically executed frameworks that would lay the foundations for his paintings. This book is a fitting testament to a hitherto neglected aspect of Klimts art, which is as complex and contradictory as the times in which it was made and as the man who made it.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deep in the senses, May 24 2007
By wiredweird "wiredweird" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Gustav Klimt (Hardcover)
Wonderful. Quick, immediate, and from the heart - or some other organ of animal intensity. Despite the title, there aren't so many watercolors, nearly none. The drawings are superb, though.Klimt was an intense sensualist. He was often photographed in a floor-length painter's smock, probably wearing nothing underneath. Also, he was commonly seen in his studio amid models not just nude but naked, in intimate and revealing poses, often in couples and more-somes. Add in the fact that Klimt acknowledged three children out of wedlock, and posthumously faced claims of fourteen more. He was clearly a man profoundly moved by female beauty. His life ouvre of painting shows that.
Thousands of his drawings are available to scholars, but the few hundred here show Klimt's passion even more clearly than his lush paintings ever did. Some are studies for his well-known paintings; he was known to do hundreds in preparation for major works. Other sketches can also be traced to known paintings, though with less certainty. Still others are too vividly sensual to have been shown in his own time.
The author includes helpful and revealing biographical notes, largely at the beginning and end of the thick book. I must caution readers with eyes aging like mine are - although the lines of type have wide, airy spacing and low x-height, the text itself looks like 8-point or smaller. Some readers will be so physically uncomfortable from eyestrain that they will lose all the value, or at least enjoyment in those written words. Dear author and publisher: check the book's layout with graying readers before committing it to type, I beg you.
Outside of that, the physical presentation is impeccable. The book is thick, as I said, but that is largely due to the heavy, bright, opaque stock on which the pages are printed - it's a 400 page book with 600 page bulk. I am not criticizing. That quality of paper takes the fine detail of the reproduced drawings beautifully, without glare, and without showing through from the back. It looks and feels luxurious. The book's rich physical sense perfectly complements its visual sensuality. I recommend this book very highly, whether your interest is in Klimt, in arts related to Nouveau, or in simply womanly beauty.
//wiredweird
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended, Jun 19 2008
By Adalberto Javier Romero Salgado - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Gustav Klimt (Hardcover)
From all the books I ordered in my last purchase, this has to be my favorite. Not only does it have rare studies and designs from Master Klimt. If there is a book you should buy to understand his works a bit more, this is the one :)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Great but small dimensions make for a horrible experience, Mar 12 2011
By J. Lagges - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Gustav Klimt (Hardcover)
The material is obviously great, but I can't fully recommend this book because everything's so tiny. It's like being on a webpage gallery and seeing awesome thumbnails and not being able to appreciate the whole image. If it was bigger 5 stars, highest recommendation; but this, no. That being said, please make a big version. thanks.
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