Balthus

by Nicholas Fox Weber

"The first full-scale biography of one of the most elusive and enigmatic painters of our time - the self-proclaimed Count Balthus Klossowski de Rola - whose brilliantly rendered, markedly sexualized portraits, especially of young girls, are among the most memorable images in contemporary art."--BOOK JACKET. "In 1934 his first exhibition, in Paris, stunned the art world. The seven canvases drew attention to his extraordinary technique - a mix of tradition and imagination informed by the work of Piero della Francesca, Courbet, and Joseph Reinhardt, but unique to the twenty-six-year-old artist - and to their provocative content; one of the paintings, The Guitar Lesson, was so powerful in its sadomasochistic imagery that it was deemed necessary to remove it from public display."--BOOK JACKET. "Continuously since then, Balthus's work has provoked both great opprobrium and profound admiration - as has the artist himself, whether collaborating with Antonin Artaud on his Theater of Cruelty, tr