Gilles Néret Boeken

Matisse, the bard of colour, and Picasso, the breaker of moulds: together, these two giants shaped the world of modern art. They were, as Picasso once said, "North Pole, South Pole." The work of Henri Matisse (1869-1954) is a sensous hymn to colour, that wild yet subtle colour which he tamed, mastered and managed, and which expressed his feelings towards women and the world. Colour was the tool with which he controlled line, arabesque, volume, light transparency, reflection and space, and though he did not shrink from pushing his creativity to the verge of abstraction, he never succumbed to it entirely. It was an approach well noted by America's Abstract Expressionists. This new and carefully conceived freedom marked not only the extraordinary significance of the painter and sculptor Matisse in the history of modern art, but also his influence, which was no less decisive than that of his main rival, Pablo Picasso. In fact, Matisse's stylistic liberation actually goes one step further in the pursuit of his own personal goal - the perfect synthesis of line and colour - by which he sought revolutionary approaches to the great tradition of French painting by drawing upon its classical aspects.

Cult of pleasure: Feminine sensuality by the Vienna Secession's greatest proponent Gustav Klimt's ornate, sensual, and decadent style made him not only the most prominent of the Vienna Secessionists but one of the best loved artists of all time. In his own time, Kilmt (1862-1918) was a highly successful painter, draftsman, muralist, and graphic artist; in the intervening years, iconic works such as The Kiss have been elevated to nothing less than cult status. Klimt's unfading popularity attests to the appeal of not only his aesthetic sensibilities but also that of the recurrent universal themes in his work: love, feminine beauty, aging, and death. He once wrote, "I am a painter who paints day after day from morning to night...Who ever wants to know something about me...ought to look carefully at my pictures." With this overview of Klimt's work, readers will delight in taking up that challenge. About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features: a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

TASCHEN's 25th anniversary Special edition! Two large-format hardcover volumes in a slipcase. Picasso called Dali "an outboard motor that's always running." Dali thought himself a genius with a right to indulge in whatever lunacy popped into his head. Painter, sculptor, writer, and filmmaker, Salvador Dali (1904-1989) was one of the century's greatest exhibitionists and eccentrics - and was rewarded with fierce controversy wherever he went. He was one of the first to apply the insights of Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis to the art of painting, approaching the subconscious with extraordinary sensitivity and imagination. This lively monograph presents the infamous Surrealist in full color and in his own words. His provocative imagery is all here, from the soft watches to the notorious burning giraffe. A friend of the artist for over thirty years, privy to the reality behind Dali's public image, author Robert Descharnes is uniquely qualified to analyze Dali - both the man and the myth.

Almost half Dalí's illustrations in this book have rarely been seen This publication presents the entire painted oeuvre of Salvador Dalí (1904-1989). After many years of research, Robert Descharnes and Gilles Néret finally located all the paintings of this highly prolific artist. Many of the works had been inaccessible for years - in fact so many that almost half the illustrations in this book have rarely been seen.

Renoir's timelessly charming paintings are the embodiment of happiness, love, & beauty; it is no doubt because of this that he is the most popular of the impressionists. TASCHEN's Renoir, the most complete retrospective book of this painter's work, examines in detail the history & motivation behind the legend. Renoir was incredibly prolific, painting over 5000 works during his lifetime, though many of these were studies. For this monograph, we have chosen 600 of his masterpleces that best demonstrate his immense talent & historical importance. Gilles Neret's detailed, insightful text traces the evolution of Renoir (1841-1919) from young porcelain decorator to one of the most famous painters of his generation, including his abandonment of landscapes in favor of portraiture & his final attraction, after years of success, to painting what he loved most, the Washers descending from the Olympia & his model & servant, Gabrielle, painted as a goddess. With a complete chronology, bibliography, & index of works, as well as photos & sketches illustrating Renoir's life & work, TASCHEN's Renoir is the essential reference book for this painter of happiness & poet of love. Oh, & did we mention the gorgeous, large-format color reproductions?

"Painting with scissors" is how Henri Matisse referred to his cut-outs. Produced towards the end of his life, when the artist was confined to a wheelchair, these brilliant bursts of color and form delight to this day as joyous celebrations of life, nature, and boundless creativity.

During the Renaissance, the great artists, from Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli to Michelangelo and Rapheal, transformed the history of art, achieving an even closer imitation of nature whilst altering it to their taste.From the art, ambiguous beings were born, half man, half woman; female breasts were planted on male busts and a young man's gaze peeped out beneath the eyelids of a Madonna. From his earliest youth, Michelangelo never ceased to suffer, and thereby to create. He attempted to reconcile the apparently conflicting forces that inhibited him: earthly passions and fear of God. Hence the edifice devoted to beauty, celestial and infernal alike, that Michelangelo raised to the glory of God. It has no equivalent nor descendants. His predecessors aspired to Heaven through faith alone; Miichelangelo sought to rise through the contemplative exaltation of beauty.

Es ist kein Zufall, dass unter den Sammlern ihrer Bilder viele Glamour- und Showbiz-Persönlichkeiten wie Madonna und Jack Nicholson sind. Tamara de Lempicka (1898–1980) war eine schillernde Star-Künstlerin, die den mythischen Geist der Wilden Zwanziger verkörperte. Mit einem großen Hunger nach Ruhm und einem Leben jenseits der Konventionen floh sie 1918 vor der Revolution von St. Petersburg nach Paris und eroberte die Stadt im Sturm. Ihre großformatigen Aktbilder und Lifestyle-Porträts der Reichen und Berühmten machten sie zur umschwärmten Ikone der Pariser Hautevolee und ermöglichten ihr ein exzessives, skandalumwittertes Leben. In einem unverwechselbaren Stil, der Kubismus mit der Neuen Sachlichkeit verband, porträtierte sie solvente Auftraggeber und Künstlerinnen wie die Sängerin Suzy Solidor, die einen neuen, selbstbewussten Frauentypus verkörperten. De Lempickas berühmtes Selbstporträt am Steuer eines grünen Bugatti wurde zum Sinnbild für Geschwindigkeit, Eleganz und weibliche Unabhängigkeit, die sie in zahlreichen Beziehungen zu Männern und Frauen auslebte. Mondän und extravagant, macht dieser Band mit ihrem Werk vertraut, das zum Inbegriff der Art-déco-Malerei wurde, und beleuchtet eine der ungewöhnlichsten Künstlerbiografien des 20. Jahrhunderts.

An essential overview of Salvador Dalí's mind-melting ideas and seismic art historical impact, this compact publication reviews the master of Surrealism's complete paintings, supplemented with sketches and ephemera. Presented by Robert Descharnes and Gilles Néret, many of these works have rarely been seen before but epitomize Dalí's depictions...