ldquo;No me intereso en miacute; mismo como tema de una pintura; sino en los demaacute;s... en especial en las mujeres...rdquo; Hermosas; sensuales y; sobre todo; eroacute;ticas; las pinturas de Gustav Klimt hablan de un mundo de opulencia y placer que parece estar a miles de antilde;os luz de distancia del rudo entorno posmoderno en el que vivimos ahora. Los temas que trata; alegoriacute;as; retratos; paisajes y figuras eroacute;ticas; no contienen praacute;cticamente ninguna referencia a eventos externos; sino que tratan de crear un mundo en el que la belleza predomina sobre todo lo demaacute;s. El uso que hace del color y los patrones estaacute; profundamente influenciado por el arte japoneacute;s; el antiguo Egipto y Bizancio. Ravenna; la perspectiva plana y bidimensional de sus pinturas y la calidad con frecuencia estilizada de sus imaacute;genes dan forma a una obra imbuida de una profunda sensualidad y en la que la figura femenina es soberana. Las primeras obras de Klimt le hicieron alcanzar el eacute;xito a una edad muy temprana. Gustav nacioacute; en 1862 y consiguioacute; una beca del estado para estudiar en la Kunstgewerbeschule (escuela de artes y oficios de Viena) a la edad de catorce antilde;os. Su talento como dibujante y pintor quedoacute; de manifiesto muy pronto y en 1879 formoacute; la Kuuml;nstlercompagnie (Compantilde;iacute;a de artistas) con su hermano Ernst y otro estudiante; Franz Matsch. La segunda mitad del siglo XIX fue un periodo de gran actividad en la arquitectura en Viena. En 1857; el emperador Francisco Joseacute; habiacute;a ordenado la destruccioacute;n de las fortificaciones que soliacute;an rodear el centro de la ciudad medieval. El resultado fue la Ringstrasse; un nuevo y floreciente distrito con magniacute;ficos edificios y hermosos parque; todo pagado por el erario puacute;blico. Por lo tanto; el joven Klimt y sus asociados tuvieron muchas oportunidades de mostrar su talento; y recibieron comisiones para las decoraciones de la celebracioacute;n de las bodas de plata del emperador Francisco Joseacute; y la emperatriz Elisabeth. En 1894; Matsch se marchoacute; del estudio comunal y en 1897; Klimt; junto con sus amigos maacute;s cercanos; renunciaron a la Kuuml;nstlerhausgenossenschaft (Sociedad cooperativa de artistas austriacos) para formar un nuevo movimiento llamado la Secesioacute;n; del cual fue electo presidente de manera inmediata. La Secesioacute;n fue un gran eacute;xito y en 1898 presentoacute; no una; sino dos exposiciones. El movimiento logroacute; ganar el suficiente dinero para comisionar su propio edificio; disentilde;ado por el arquitecto Joseph Maria Olbrich. Sobre la entrada estaba escrito su lema: ldquo;A cada era su arte; al arte; su libertadrdquo;. Maacute;s o menos a partir de 1897; Klimt pasoacute; casi todos los veranos en Attersee; con la familia Flouml;ge. Fueron periodos de paz y tranquilidad en los que produjo paisajes que constituyeron casi un cuarto de la totalidad de su obra. Klimt realizoacute; bocetos de praacute;cticamente todo lo que haciacute;a. En ocasiones realizaba maacute;s de cien dibujos para una pintura; cada uno con un detalle distinto; un traje; una joya o un simple gesto. La calidad excepcional de Gustav Klimt se refleja en el hecho de que no tuvo predecesores ni verdaderos seguidores. Admiroacute; a Rodin y a Whistler sin copiarlos servilmente; y a su vez recibioacute; la admiracioacute;n de los pintores vieneses maacute;s joacute;venes; como Egon Schiele y Oskar Kokoschka; cuya obra muestra una gran influencia de Klimt.
#4549884 in eBooks 2014-01-07 2014-01-07File Name: B00IODLP4K
Review
80 of 81 people found the following review helpful. Now we have a guideBy Kelly CoyneAfter the long tyranny of the lawn and hedge; theres a revolution underway. We want to replace the old paradigm of lifeless landscapes with gardens which not only delight the eye; but heal the land. We want and need gardens that function on many levels: gardens which can capture water; build soil; support pollinators; preserve native species; etc. The problem is that for all of our good intentions--us lawn remover types--we dont necessarily know how to replace the lawn nrsquo; hedge paradigm with something both attractive and sustainable. We have precious few good models to follow. And for all our good intentions; sometimes our efforts fail.Now we have a guide.Authors Thomas Rainer and Claudia West show us how to mimic naturersquo;s patterns to craft landscapes based on cooperative communities of plants in order to build resilience and biodiversity. They ask us to design gardens imbued with the virtue of wildness. At the same time; they tell us how to frame and manage that wildness so the landscape looks planned and cared-for--thus avoiding unpleasant conflicts with neighbors and local authorities who may not be as enthusiastic about the welfare of native pollinators as you might be.Planting in Post-Wild World is not a simple how-to book. In fact; theres nothing simple about it at all--but it is very clear. Its goals are ambitious; and while it might seem like it was written for designers; it can be used by a determined home gardener. It has to be; because there arent that many designers out there working this way yet. And while I firmly believe in the value of investing in professional advice; we cant all afford it. Basically; all of us need to be designers now; because the need is great and the stakes are high.This is an excellent book; destined to be a classic. I canrsquo;t recommend it enough.79 of 83 people found the following review helpful. Some Day; Ecological Gardening for "The Rest of Us"?By Katherine SeymourI picked up Rainer and Wests book at the library recently; having read some favorable reviews here and on Garden Rant and elsewhere. I have a somewhat different take on it. I thought its evangelism for an ecologically-focused gardening was; in general; a welcome antidote to the horticultural industrys single-minded focus (responding; in all fairness; to client desires) to promote "Flower Power" by marketing the most highly ornamental; often new and unproven hybrids; without consideration of their adaptability locally; and frequently requiring extensive use of need to pesticides; herbicides; and fungicides. I think the book should be read with great caution; however; because its prescriptions for planting and maintenance require a wealth of experience and a detailed knowledge of plant husbandry very rare among self-taught gardeners and even uncommon among professional garden designers.There are also a number of what; to me; seemed peculiar assertions in the book about the natural world. "In nature; plants have an order and visual harmony;" where traditional gardens are "arbitrary assortments" of plants chosen for "personal preference." To anyone who has grappled with a laurel-infested swamp; or cut a path through second growth mix of hardwoods; or fought with the woody invasives in an abandoned meadow; or a setting overtaken by highly aggressive honeysuckle; such broad statements about the harmony; balance; and inherent beauty of the natural world seem romantic in the extreme. And as for "personal preference;" what is a garden after all other than a place that gives the gardener great joy. A knowledgeable gardener may well chose to temper his passions with an eye toward environmental sustainability (which is undoubtedly a good thing); but it is not the only thing.Of greatest concern; perhaps; is the intimation (often stated forthrightly) that the design of plant communities can be achieved; practically; with modest help. One of the most enthusiastic proponents of ecological gardening; Larry Weaner; was recently quoted in the Washington Post stating "It is difficult; if not impossible; for gardeners who want to move away from traditional garden models to find the labor and advice geared to ecological gardening." Many of the design goals promoted by Rainer are identical to those of the great plantsman; William Robinson; who in The Wild Garden; set forth many of the same principles -- naturalized plantings; using plants from the same climates (if not the same habitat); layered; with a focus on clear; defined edges to minimize chaos and impose some measure of structure. Gertrude Jekyll; although a fan of Robinson; cautioned that his designs; if they could be achieved at all; required much "coaxing and persuading." The garden writer C.W. Earle was even more critical; noting that wild gardening is an illusion and a snare; "requiring the most judicious planting with consummate knowledge and experience of plants."Rainer and West do acknowledge; at times; the resource and maintenance demands presented by their approach. They concede that choosing regionally appropriate plants "takes a high degree of plant knowledge." In portions of the book where they provide specific advice (in contrast to those in which they rhapsodize about the natural world); they do caution that ecological gardening "requires a rich collaboration with contractors and garden staff" and "complex plant communities only persist if designers and land managers collaborate;" and strongly recommend ongoing "consulting with soil scientists to read and interpret soil tests;" and the use of plant designers (like Rainer and West) as part "of a plantings life as regular and ongoing consultants." Basically; it seems to me; they are talking about New Yorks High Line; or the Longwood Meadow Garden; or other institutional or municipal gardens with a staff of volunteers and long-term consulting contracts with a "garden design firm."Recognizing the difficulties inherent in ecological gardening given the diversity of natural communities; they also try to provide some practical design guidelines. They walk the reader through various models and taxonomies used to organize and design plant communities worldwide and propose an alternative approach based on what they call "archetypal landscapes" -- grasslands; woodlands and scrublands; forests; and edges; together with some design concepts (functional; seasonal; structural layers) to apply to various settings. These are helpful; on balance; but also fairly vague. The archetypes seem to revere a pre-Colombian world; not the suburban or highly urban world many of us live in. The authors correctly say that plants should enhance a sense of place and memory; but that often means -- to many gardeners -- the peonies of their grandmother; or the favorite Southern camellia; or even the highly drought-sensitive magenta azalea -- not the remnants of a midwestern Great Plain. When the authors talk about exploring a site for its emotional resonance and directing ones attention to where a "dense thicket of existing shrubs may be used to line a path that opens into a sunny; low meadows" they seem to be talking about design advice for the high net-worth hedge fund manager wondering hot to best disguise his helicopter pad at this house in the Hamptons. Theyre not talking about the middle class 100 foot lot with the neighbors propane tank in the background; and the circle of earth left by the old above-ground swimming pool in the foreground..I tend to think that their goal is worthwhile. Maybe this book will be the progenitor for others for "the rest of us" -- who wish to make our backyard gardening more sustainable and beautiful; at reasonable cost.7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Lovely BookBy KarliThis is a great book for those interested in how to design a garden that utilizes the best traits of plants for a naturalized appearance with minimal maintenance. Its a great read and incredibly informational. I love this book and look forward to sharing it with others.
