Janet Bishop

A fascinating, in-depth exploration of the groundbreaking art collections of Gertrude Stein and her family

As American expatriates living in Paris, the writer Gertrude Stein, her brothers Leo and Michael, and Michael's wife Sarah were absolutely pivotal in shaping the city's vibrant cultural life in the early 20th century. They hosted Saturday evening salons at which the brightest artists, writers, musicians, and collectors convened to discuss the latest developments. They aggressively promoted and collected emerging painters and sculptors, particularly their close friends Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. And along the way they developed unparalleled holdings in modernist work by such figures as Paul Cézanne, Juan Gris, Francis Picabia, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Lavishly produced and featuring more than 600 images, The Steins Collect is the first comprehensive exploration of the Steins' extraordinary collections and their enduring cultural influence.

The book explores the Steins' impact on art-making and collecting practices in Europe and the United States; the intense sibling rivalries that developed around key artists and ideas; the roots of Leo's aesthetic theories in the thought of William James and Bernard Berenson; Sarah and Michael's role in founding the Académie Matisse; Gertrude's complex relationship with Picasso and their artistic influence on each other; Le Corbusier's radical villa design for the family; and much more. The Steins Collect not only reveals the artistic prescience of this innovative family and their important patronage, but also traces how they created a new international standard of taste for modern art.

Published in association with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art… (plus d'informations)

I really enjoyed the museum exhibit and then this catalog. I am a fan of Matisse and a fan of Diebenkorn. It was fascinating seeing their works presented together and learning about how Diebenkorn used Matisse’s art as an inspiration for his own art. Because of that connection and the way the artworks are shown, it’s one of the most brilliant exhibits I’ve ever seen.

The book is excellent. If I hadn’t seen the exhibit though I might have given it only 4 or maybe 4 ½ stars, but this book does a reasonably good job showing the scope of the exhibit. There are excellent and well-presented paintings and drawings in the book and the essays do give more information than what is included as descriptions on the museum walls, but in order for the exhibit to be fully appreciated it really must be seen as intended, in a museum. Standing in all the rooms and being surrounded by the art was key for me in being so emotionally moved.

If you can’t see it the exhibit in person (I think today is its last day at SFMOMA) the book is still worth reading. Because I’m so interested in the topic I really enjoyed the essays, and some of my favorite paintings by both artists are included in the exhibit/catalog so I thoroughly enjoyed it, going back to view certain art pieces multiple times. If I was buying books, it’s probably one I’d want to own.

Highly recommended for all Matisse fans and especially for all Diebenkorn fans. If you love both artists, or are interested in art history, this is a must read/see book.… (plus d'informations)

Robert Bechtle A Retrospective encompasses the artist's work from the 1960s to today, published to coincide with a major retrospective exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. There are four essays along with a text commentary which accompanies the plates. The essays are titled: Robert Becthle: Painting As We Are, A Place in the Sun, Photographic Guilt: the Painter and the Camera, and Alameda Gran Torino. The first essay discusses the artists' work in relation to his chronology, second looks at his paintings in terms of light and then humour and the third essay is self explanatory from its title. Following the section of plates is a Chronology, Exhibition History, Selected Bibliography and a Catalogue of the Exhibition.

The book is illustrated throughout in colour and black and with, the latter being either black and white snap shots or reproductions of charcoal drawings. There are 91 plates, mostly one to a page with a few occupying a double page, plus the many illustrations accompanying the essays and other sections.

There is inevitably a certain amount of repetition in the various essays, and while constant mention is made of Bechtle's use of photography and methods of transference of the images to canvass, none of them discusses in any depth how he his actually applies his paint. While it is frequently pointed out that the finished pictures from a distance, and of course in reproduction as in this book, look photorealistic, we are reminded that in fact the paint on closer inspection is relatively freely applied. Unfortunately we have to take the writers' word on this for there is not one life size detail of an oil painting, the nearest thing is the picture introducing the plates which is about one third life size, but it gives little away. I find this disappointing, it is akin to viewing the exhibition but not being allowed to venture any closer than around 15 feet to the pictures. The water colours and charcoal drawings, being initially smaller do not present such a problem.

It is nonetheless a handsome well produced volume; we can clearly glean the Becthle's primary subjects: cars, urban landscapes and people known to the artist; and the reproductions as here even greatly reduced in reproduction still manage to convey the freedom and vitality of the work.… (plus d'informations)

Robert Bechtle A Retrospective encompasses the artist's work from the 1960s to today, published to coincide with a major retrospective exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. There are four essays along with a text commentary which accompanies the plates. The essays are titled: Robert Becthle: Painting As We Are, A Place in the Sun, Photographic Guilt: the Painter and the Camera, and Alameda Gran Torino. The first essay discusses the artists' work in relation to his chronology, second looks at his paintings in terms of light and then humour and the third essay is self explanatory from its title. Following the section of plates is a Chronology, Exhibition History, Selected Bibliography and a Catalogue of the Exhibition.

The book is illustrated throughout in colour and black and with, the latter being either black and white snap shots or reproductions of charcoal drawings. There are 91 plates, mostly one to a page with a few occupying a double page, plus the many illustrations accompanying the essays and other sections.

There is inevitably a certain amount of repetition in the various essays, and while constant mention is made of Bechtle's use of photography and methods of transference of the images to canvass, none of them discusses in any depth how he his actually applies his paint. While it is frequently pointed out that the finished pictures from a distance, and of course in reproduction as in this book, look photorealistic, we are reminded that in fact the paint on closer inspection is relatively freely applied. Unfortunately we have to take the writers' word on this for there is not one life size detail of an oil painting, the nearest thing is the picture introducing the plates which is about one third life size, but it gives little away. I find this disappointing, it is akin to viewing the exhibition but not being allowed to venture any closer than around 15 feet to the pictures. The water colours and charcoal drawings, being initially smaller do not present such a problem.

It is nonetheless a handsome well produced volume; we can clearly glean the Becthle's primary subjects: cars, urban landscapes and people known to the artist; and the reproductions as here even greatly reduced in reproduction still manage to convey the freedom and vitality of the work.… (plus d'informations)