Since Philip Guston's death in 1980, his late figurative paintings and drawings have steadily reaped the acclaim they deserve--acclaim that was largely denied them during Guston's lifetime (Hilton Kramer infamously reviewed Guston as a "mandarin pretending to be a stumblebum" in a damning 1970 New York Times article). This volume reunites a selection of paintings from the Roma series, completed during Guston's residency at the American Academy in Rome in 1970-71. From early in his career, Guston had taken inspiration from Italian art, and his 1973 painting "Pantheon" features a list of Italian painters: de Chirico, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, Giotto and Tiepolo. Italian cinema (especially Fellini) and classical sculpture were also dear to his heart. The Roma works consolidate this dialogue with Italian art and culture. Diary entries published alongside the reproductions recount exchanges at the American Academy, pilgrimages to Venice, Arezzo, Sicily and Orvieto, and observations of the international cultural community in Rome.
"The Roma series provides insight into this crucial moment in Guston’s career and testifies to his dialogue with Italian art and culture. Elemental forms convey his tragic sensibility and formal inventiveness, both of which were central to what the art critic Harold Rosenberg called the painter’s 'liberation from detachment.' Inspired since his youth by masters of Italian Renaissance, Guston’s lifelong admiration for Italy continued with his love of de Chirico, Italian films, especially Fellini, antique ruins, sculptural fragments, formal gardens and the Italian people."
FORMAT: Hbk, 8.5 x 11 in. / 224 pgs / 94 color / 18 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $60.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $70 ISBN: 9783775726320 PUBLISHER: Hatje Cantz AVAILABLE: 4/30/2011 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA LA
Published by Hatje Cantz. Text by Dore Ashton, Peter Benson Miller.
Since Philip Guston's death in 1980, his late figurative paintings and drawings have steadily reaped the acclaim they deserve--acclaim that was largely denied them during Guston's lifetime (Hilton Kramer infamously reviewed Guston as a "mandarin pretending to be a stumblebum" in a damning 1970 New York Times article). This volume reunites a selection of paintings from the Roma series, completed during Guston's residency at the American Academy in Rome in 1970-71. From early in his career, Guston had taken inspiration from Italian art, and his 1973 painting "Pantheon" features a list of Italian painters: de Chirico, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, Giotto and Tiepolo. Italian cinema (especially Fellini) and classical sculpture were also dear to his heart. The Roma works consolidate this dialogue with Italian art and culture. Diary entries published alongside the reproductions recount exchanges at the American Academy, pilgrimages to Venice, Arezzo, Sicily and Orvieto, and observations of the international cultural community in Rome.
