Balthus

Balthus (Count Balthasar Klossowski de Rola, 1908–2001) was a French-German painter who shocked the Parisian art world in 1934 with his dreamy, sensual, neo-classical portraits of nymphets. This occurred at a time when Surrealism and abstraction were standard. While frequently scorned as a provocateur, Balthus was widely embraced as an artistic prodigy. Responding to critics of his realist style, he noted: "The real isn't what you think you see. One can be a realist of the unreal and a figurative painter of the invisible." Today, his paintings endure as prime examples of modern figurative art. 

This is a new book, unopened and out-of-print.