Balthus (Baltus)

(1908-2001), pseudonym of the French artist Klosovskiy Balthazar (Balthasar Klossowski). In his works Balthus created a unique world, . existing on the border of dream and reality, . where the strict and quiet interiors, . saturated with a sense of pain and vague premonitions, . depicted sleeping or dreaming, young girls in seductive poses,
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Balthus was born on February 29, 1908 in Paris. His father - Erich Klosovskiy, art historian and painter of German-Polish descent, mother - Elizabeth Dorothea (nц?e Spiro) - renowned artist, who worked under the pseudonym Baladina. Youth Balthus spent in Paris, Geneva and Berlin. Being self-taught, he studied and copied the old masters in the Louvre, and then continued his education in Italy, copying the frescoes of Piero della Francesca in Arezzo. In the early works of the artist can feel his passion for painting Courbet, the Swiss artist 18. Reinhardt and the masters of the Italian Renaissance on the one hand, and on the other - surrealistic effects, from which he, however, soon gave.

The first significant exhibition of works by Balthus was held in 1934 in Paris, Gallery Pierre. He worked for the theater, which has had, in turn, a strong influence on his painting. From 1961 to 1977, Balthus was the Director of the French Academy at Villa Medici in Rome. His first museum exhibition was held in 1956 in New York, the Museum of Modern Art, which owns some of the most significant works of the artist. In the 1983-1984 Center of. Georges Pompidou in conjunction with the Metropolitan Museum organized a large retrospective exhibition of his works in Paris and New York. Similar exhibitions were held in Lausanne in 1993 and in Berne in 1994.

Balthus died in La Rossinere near Gstaad (Switzerland) 18 February 2001.