The painter Balthus, nee Balthazar Klossowski, is one of the most original and disturbing of European modern painters.He is something of a cult. I am happy to have received, promptly, this rather smart, large book dedicated entirely to his enigmatic work. This is the capricious plastic world of the elusive painter Balthus, where females endlessly appear, like succubus, gracing an artistic landscape that's both alluring and repulsive. One cannot help but compare some of the imagery in the Interpretation of Dreams by Freud, to the visions depicting Balthus sexual agonies. Look up Balthus 'La Chambre' on page 329, perhaps one of the most inspired and perverse canvases, ever. There is no other painter like him. Like Picasso he shocks, but with a much more simple and personal vocabulary. There is something of El Greco here, the angst. He is limited like Modigliani though soon his ouvre becomes very telling. A persistent parade of pictorially enticing nubiles that is both delicious and repellent. The book by Rizzoli is a treasure almost 500 pages in all. Part art book part encyclopedic tome. Many color pages. In this book by Jean Clair there are, along the many art pages, also photographs, sketches, private correspondence, etc. A lot of personal information offered us fascinated by Balthus. It's a big book that can double as an object d'art. I'm more than pleased with it.
