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Klimt (Big Art) | 
 enlarge | Author: Gottfried Fliedl
Publisher: Taschen
Category: Book
List Price: $14.99
Buy Used: $14.54
You Save: $0.45 (3%)
New (2) Used (8) from $14.54
Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 603692
Format: Illustrated
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 25th
Pages: 239
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.4
Dimensions (in): 12.1 x 9.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 3822850160
Dewey Decimal Number: 709
EAN: 9783822850169
ASIN: 3822850160
Publication Date: June 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: The book is in good condition and the pages are clean. Ships within 2 business days. All items guaranteed.
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Product Description
The Kiss of Klimt: the most fascinating painter of Vienna s Belle Epoque ... Gustav Klimt s art is thoroughly fin de siecle.It expresses the apocalyptic atmosphere of Vienna s upper-middle-class society a society devoted to the cultivation of aesthetic awareness and the cult of pleasure. The ecstatic joy which Klimt (1862 1918) and his contemporaries found or hoped to find in beauty was constantly overshadowed by death, and death therefore plays an important role in Klimt s art. Klimt s fame, however, rests on his reputation as one of the greatest erotic painters and graphic artists of his times. Particularly his drawings, which have been widely admired for their artistic excellence, are dominated by the erotic portrayal of women. Klimt saw the world "in female form." Author Gottfried Fliedlalso discusses the Secession movement and Klimt s role within this important group of artists.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 Beautiful Color Reproductions!! October 27, 1998
27 out of 28 found this review helpful
Klimt is my favorite artist and yet it is so difficult to find quality reproductions of his works; usually the color is faded or the gold leaf comes out a sickly yellow!! This book has beautiful reproductions and concise and informative explanations next to each painting as well as an interesting biography on Klimt. I highly recommend this book for a clear, concise overview.
Revealing, Educational and Loads of Photos June 26, 2007
T. S.
26 out of 26 found this review helpful
First of all, the book is not covered as shown in the amazon photo which shows the famous "kiss" painting. The book, apparently updated in 2006, shows a cover photo of Klimt's famous Danae (1907-8) oil on canvas painting. I think this cover is more provacative and more organic and softer than the famed Kiss painting which reveals a couple entwined in gold looking rather stiff. Danae was certainly a better choice for the cover. The book is definitely not written for the casual art reader. It is written with extreme depth as what I'd expect from a historian of the arts on a university research level. As verbose as it is, it has plenty, if not hundreds of photos of the famous works, including all of Klimt's paintings and lesser known sketches. The author discusses several of Klimt's famous paintings in depth and reviews various critics of Klimt's time period as well as Klimt's personal opinions and struggles. Culture, politics, and various movements in the arts is also discussed at length. This book is too deep for the casual browser or reader but makes a great coffee table book if only for the pictures alone. It is a high quality book and the pages are high quality (acid free) and glossy. The painting photos are rich and fully colored, better than other books I've bought on Klimt (where the precious gold paint is reduced to lousy brownish or greenish prints). The gold tones in this book, so famous in Klimt's work, are reproduced extremely well as well as the other vivid colors so characteristic of Klimt's work. It's a bargain to get this book at the price.
The best one I've seen August 18, 2000
Olga Klepov (New York, NY USA)
17 out of 20 found this review helpful
This book is great. Contains alot of Klimt's paintings, all color plates, and alot of the drawings. The quality of prints is wonderful. I have seen many different books on Klimt's works and this one is definitely the best by quality and content and for a great price too! Highly recommend it to anyone.
 great format, poor reproductions February 21, 2003
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
The format of this book is wonderful -- the pages unfold to become full 20x22" images. This is a perfect size for a poster or teaching aid -- IF the image quality weren't so poor! I wanted to like this book, really... but I've seen Klimt's work in person as well as in many other books, and the reproductions here are just so dull and grainy. Rich violets appear brown; the firey red hair in several pieces looks very subdued. "The Kiss", shown on the front cover, shows the couple with skin that is positively green. And the golds that Klimt is famous for, while I appreciate that they must be difficult to photograph, just do not come across. I would have gladly paid more for this book if the publishers could have reproduced it better. It is obvious they intended this to be a picture book -- there are literally only two pages of writing -- so it would make sense to give the best reproductions possible! Even using a glossy paper instead of the dull matte finish would have given a better presentation. If you are interested in truly appreciating Klimt and his work, I would recommend Taschen's posterbook for large, good quality reproductions. I also would recommend "Silver, Gold, and Precious Stones" from the Adventures in Art Series. This is geared toward a younger audience, but it beautifully laid out and presented, and actually uses a gold finish on the areas with gold leaf (nice touch!).
Gustav Klimt February 17, 2007
Donald Hazeltine (Bainbridge Island, WA)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
Over the years, I've only looked at Klimt from the edges - that is, I was aware only of the more popular poster images you couldn't help seeing here and there. But this book is a big revelation to me. Such genius! He is truly amazing, and I had no idea of the range of his thought or the depth of his talent. He was a superb draftsman, which enabled him to take risks with the figure because he knew exactly what he was doing.
A well-designed book - a complete visual pleasure, and fire to the imagination.
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