Gustav Klimt`s art is thoroughly fin de siecle. It expresses the apocalyptic atmosphere of Vienna`s upper-middle-class society a society devoted to the cultivation of aesthetic awareness and the cult of pleasure. The ecstatic joy which Klimt (18621918) and his contemporaries found or hoped to find in beauty was constantly overshadowed by death, and death therefore plays an important role in Klimt`s art. Klimt`s fame, however, rests on his reputation as one of the greatest erotic painters and graphic artists of his times. Particularly his drawings, which have been widely admired for their artistic excellence, are dominated by the erotic portrayal of women. Klimt saw the world "in female form." Author Gottfried Fliedl also discusses the Secession movement and Klimt`s role within this important group of artists.
Manuel Pérez Ledesma es catedrático de Historia Contemporánea en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Su trabajo se ha centrado en los movimientos sociales y en teoría e historia de la ciudadanía. Isabel Burdiel es catedrática de Historia Contemporánea en la Universidad de Valencia y especialista en la cultura política del liberalismo y la monarquía isabelina. Autores de una cualificada obra por separado, juntos editaron Liberales, agitadores y conspiradores. Biografías heterodoxas del siglo XIX (2000), un libro emparentado con Liberales eminentes.
Eduardo Arroyo (Madrid, 1937) ha realizado su obra dentro de una corriente de figuración crítica y literaria de una enorme originalidad. Tras una inicial vocación literaria, que no abandonaría con el paso del tiempo y le llevo a formarse como periodista, se traslado a Paris en busca del clima de libertad que no encontraba en España.
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) was one of the last great artists in the ukiyo-e tradition. Literally meaning "pictures of the floating world", ukiyo-e refers to the famous Japanese woodblock print genre that originated in the 17th century and is practically synonymous with the Western world's visual characterization of Japan. Though Hiroshige captured a variety of subjects, his greatest talent was in creating landscapes of his native Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and his most famous work was a series known as "100 Famous Views of Edo" (1856-1858). This book provides an introduction to his work and an overview of his career.
Drawing on exhaustive research from interviews and unpublished archival material, John Richardson has produced the long-awaited third volume of the definitive biography, full of original, groundbreaking new insights into Picasso's life and work. His lively and incisive analysis of the work meshes seamlessly with the rich and detailed narrative of this complex and sensual life. "The Triumphant Years" reveals Picasso at the height of his powers, producing not only the costumes and sets for such Diaghilev Ballets Russes productions as "Parade" and "Tricorne" but some of his most important sculpture and paintings. These are tumultuous years, Picasso torn between marital respectability with Olga, the Russian ballerina who was his first wife, and the erotic passion of his mistress, Marie-Therese.Rome and Naples would inspire the classicism in Picasso's work of the early twenties and Richardson reveals how the mercurial, witty Cocteau introduced him to the aristocratic and artistic world of Paris, including the de Noailles art patrons who backed the surrealist films of Bunuel and Dali. Picasso was amused by Tristan Tzara and the Dadaists but resisted the advances of Andre Breton and the Surrealists. Sara and Gerald Murphy, whom he met in the south of France, would introduce him to Hemingway and Fitzgerald. With "The Triumphant Years", Richardson has written a masterful and compelling biography full of valuable and intriguing research about the most important artist of the twentieth century.
Catálogo de exposición. Centro José Guerrero, del 16 de octubre de 2008 al 11 de febrero de 2009 Real Academia de España en Roma, del 5 de febrero al 29 de marzo del 2009.
Este libro reúne veinte años de su heterogénea producción y pone de manifiesto que, detrás de la tajante resistencia a la construcción de un estilo, Ballesteros sostiene una idea de arte construido a partir de tres materiales el juego, el ocio creativo y la participacion de multiples actores en una misma obra Mezclando estos componentes en diferentes grados, como si fuese un cientifico, su produccion se nos ofrece a veces abierta, ruidosa, festiva; otras, silenciosa y meditativa; pero siempre como el resultado de un incierto experimento. Un texto de Valeria Gonzalez recorre el desarrollo de la produccion de Ballesteros, desde Vito Ver, el comic existencialista que publicaba en los años 80, hasta sus ultimas fotografias, presentadas por primera vez en este libro. Eva Grinstein entrevista al artista insistiendo en su actuacion como bisagra entre las esteticas "autistas" de los 90 y las actuales, en las que los artistas permiten (y hasta buscan) la autoria colectiva. Por ultimo, se incluye un breve ensayo de Reinaldo Laddaga que rodea el misterio de la ultima obra presentada por Ballesteros en la galeria Ruth Benzacar una montaña oscura, negra, enorme, realizada con 40.000 kilometros de hilo, la medida de la circunferencia del planeta Tierra tomada a la altura del Ecuador.
