Book 72 - Nathaniel Harris "The Life And Works Of Gustav Klimt"

Nathaniel Harris "The Life And Works Of Gustav Klimt" (Parragon)





This is the second book I have on Klimt - the other is by Taschen.
Obviously, this tiny book can't compete with the larger publications like Taschen, nor does the author have much space to really discuss Klimt's work, but it was nonetheless a well-done book. The author has chosen a broad selection of Klimt's work, drawing from the mosaics, portraits, and landscapes throughout his well-established career to give readers a plausible overview of an artist without attempting (foolishly) to be comprehensive. Each selection is accompanied by a short paragraph that introduces each painting's main theme, while they are too brief to be truly satisfactory, we are given enough titillating details about Klimt's themes, motivations, and inspirations (as well as the artistic climate of the period) that we are drawn to seek out further information and discussion. My only complaint is that a few of the paintings seemed cropped in their reproduction, but I understand why the size restraints had to come into play.