ldquo;I am not interested in myself as a subject for painting; but in others; particularly womenhellip;rdquo;Beautiful; sensuous and above all erotic; Gustav Klimtrsquo;s paintings speak of a world of opulence and leisure; which seems aeons away from the harsh; post-modern environment we live in now. The subjects he treats ndash; allegories; portraits; landscapes and erotic figures ndash; contain virtually no reference to external events; but strive rather to create a world where beauty; above everything else; is dominant. His use of colour and pattern was profoundly influenced by the art of Japan; ancient Egypt; and Byzantium. Ravenne; the flat; two-dimensional perspective of his paintings; and the frequently stylised quality of his images form an oeuvre imbued with a profound sensuality and one where the figure of woman; above all; reigns supreme. Klimtrsquo;s very first works brought him success at an unusually young age. Gustav; born in 1862; obtained a state grant to study at Kunstgewerbeschule (the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts) at the age of fourteen. His talents as a draughtsman and painter were quickly noticed; and in 1879 he formed the Kuuml;nstlercompagnie (Artistsrsquo; Company) with his brother Ernst and another student; Franz Matsch. The latter part of the nineteenth century was a period of great architectural activity in Vienna. In 1857; the Emperor Franz Joseph had ordered the destruction of the fortifications that had surrounded the medieval city centre. The Ringstrasse was the result; a budding new district with magnificent buildings and beautiful parks; all paid for by public expenses. Therefore the young Klimt and his partners had ample opportunities to show off their talents; and they received early commissions to contribute to the decorations for the pageant organised to celebrate the silver wedding anniversary of the Emperor Franz Joseph and the Empress Elisabeth. In 1894; Matsch moved out of their communal studio; and in 1897 Klimt; together with his closest friends; resigned from the Kuuml;nstlerhausgenossenschaft (the Cooperative Society of Austrian Artists) to form a new movement known as the Secession; of which he was immediately elected president. The Secession was a great success; holding both a first and second exhibition in 1898. The movement made enough money to commission its very own building; designed for it by the architect Joseph Maria Olbrich. Above the entrance was its motto: ldquo;To each age its art; to art its freedom.rdquo; From around 1897 onward; Klimt spent almost every summer on the Attersee with the Flouml;ge family. These were periods of peace and tranquillity in which he produced the landscape paintings constituting almost a quarter of his entire oeuvre. Klimt made sketches for virtually everything he did. Sometimes there were over a hundred drawings for one painting; each showing a different detail ndash; a piece of clothing or jewellery; or a simple gesture. Just how exceptional Gustav Klimt was is perhaps reflected in the fact that he had no predecessors and no real followers. He admired Rodin and Whistler without slavishly copying them; and was admired in turn by the younger Viennese painters Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka; both of whom were greatly influenced by Klimt.
#2075296 in eBooks 2013-08-01 2013-08-01File Name: B00INZY3XE
Review
62 of 65 people found the following review helpful. World class talent; world class bookBy violentfemmebotPhil Collins is a curious case. Like his fellow former Genesis bandmate; Steve Hackett; he is grossly underrecognized for his talent and vast contributions to rock music. Unlike Steve Hackett; he is an A++-list star whose name and music is known by nearly all; young and old. Yet; when you ask the average person who Phil Collins is; the association is usually one of his smaltzy ballads or; perhaps as part of Patrick Batemans American Psycho threesome soundtrack. In a fate arguably worse than Hacketts relative anonymity; he is quite well known - but as a PUNCHLINE. Many people dont even know he was a drummer (and one of the very best in the world; at that!)"Not Dead Yet" is a valiant attempt by Phil to put his reputation back in a proper; respectable light. His resume; achievements and experiences are mindblowing. Understandably; he would like us to remember him thus. After all; he has worked very; VERY hard to earn these things; as will become quite apparent to the reader early on. Phil Collins is no slouch and has an incredible work ethic. As a drummer alone; he has influenced MULTITUDES of musicians; from Neil Peart to Vinnie Paul to Kanye West to Alex Van Halen to Jason Bonham to Mike Portnoy and on and on and on. So if it seems like he is being a bit "braggy" at times; remember where he is coming from and how few people outside the musical sphere have really acknowledged him for his accomplishments.Collins sprinkles plenty of humor and hilarious anecdotes throughout Not Dead Yet; creating a seamless;entertaining journey from his childhood to early career in Genesis to 80s/90s superstardom to his more recent struggles for the reader thats both informative and bittersweet. No matter how you feel about Phil when you pick up the book; you are almost guaranteed to like him when you finish. There are NO boring momentsThe book is written in a witty; breezy yet informative style and is quite hard to put down. It is easy to see why so many musicians from so many backgrounds (from Brian Eno to Tommy Bolin to Sting to Adele to Eric Clapton to Robert Plant + so so many others) wanted to work with him. In addition to his talent; he has an affable charm; a quick wit and a very open mind with regards to music. He has the ability to laugh at himself and some of his best-known blunders (such as the 1985 Live Aid Led Zeppelin reunion debacle; which he will give a through account of).At the same time; Phil Collins is a formidable perfectionist; perhaps harder on himself than any critic could ever be. He takes his job as a musician very seriously; and you can tell that any missteps such as the Led Zep incident eat at him tremendously. For instance; his finger slips on a piano key during his Live Aid performance of "Against All Odds;" which he describes as a "bum note thats heard around the world." But if you YouTube the performance; this "clanger;" while perceptible; (especially given his brief oh sh!t! smirk immediately after); is actually pretty subtle and would be easy to miss if you werent actively listening for it. The performance is positively stunning overall; especially vocally.Another aspect of the book I really liked is that Phil focuses more on his musical career than on his personal life. Many musicians gloss over the actual nuts and bolts of their craft in favor of maximizing the salacious "sex; drugs rocknroll" bits for gossip-inclined readers; but Phil is a musician first and foremost. Because he is such an entertaining narrator; this is by no means boring (I split my sides at the mental image of PC stripping down to his "graying Y-fronts" and diving into Peter Gabriels parents fancy swimming pool during his 1970 Genesis audition). Even if you already know everything about his career; you are sure to love the great stories he has to tell along the way.I highly; HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone. Regardless of whether you are a Phil Collins fan or not; you are sure to love his story and gain new respect for this man; his career; and the multitudes of musicians he has touched.8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. Hes definitely not dead yet!By Jacquelyn J. CacciaPhil Collins is not afraid of the truth; even if; as he states; its HIS truth. This engaging read is his story in his words. He tells it honestly. I found the tale fascinating. It was sometimes difficult to follow the story line because he knew/knows everyone and he knew them before they became who they are today. So the story can bounce around a bit. But that doesnt make it any less readable. He is a true star and this book is worth the time spent reading it.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. From the Good to the Bad music wise but a GREAT ENLIGHTENING bookBy Ned KirbyI really liked Phil Collins up until he started becoming real commercialized but even some of his commercial music was excellent But a lot of it was crap too. But the thing is great about this is that he comes across such a regular; nice and down to earth guy which I think he is. He never got caught up into the star making machinery and I feel he treats and treated people with respect. So if yourea Genesis fan which I was (at least up until foxtrot and selling England By the Pound) youll enjoy this book a LOT. And even though I didnt like a lot of the stuff on Phil Collins as a solo artist especially his pathetic attempt to cover GROOVY KIND OF LOVE which was really hard to listen to; ( the beginning of the end of my appreciation of his musical talent) I still found this book to be VERY entertaining if just from a human standpoint - One of the better books on rock music celebreties I have EVER read. Pick it up.
