Balthus

This remarkably candid and thorough monograph, written by one of the artist's longtime friends, takes scholarship on Balthus to a new level, revealing the ideas and events behind many works and reproducing a number of recentlydiscovered paintings for the first time. Though not part of any major school, Balthus has steadily gained recognition over the past twenty years, especially since an important 1983 MOMA/NYC exhibition. His intenselybrooding and dream atmosphere canvases reveal unsettling undercurrents of eroticism and despair. Illustrated with nearly 200 color plates and scores of B&W illus. 272p.