Paths to the Absolute : Mondrian, Malevich, Kandinsky, Pollock, Newman, Rothko and Still - Softcover

Golding, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0500283591 ISBN 13: 9780500283592

Publisher: Gardners Books, 2002

Synopsis

In this survey of the origins and development of abstraction in twentieth-century painting, John Golding analyses the ambitions and careers of seven major artists, each of whom 'had been inspired by the fact that he was on the path to some new, ultimate pictorial truth or certainty, to a visual absolute'. The artists under discussion fall into two groups: the three greatest pioneering abstract painters in Europe - Piet Mondrian, Kasimir Severinovich Malevich and Vasily Kandinsky - and the four leading figures in America - Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still - who, in the 1940s and 1950s were able to endow abstraction with a new purpose and meaning. In his discussion of each artist the author has chosen key works to illustrate a visual progress on away from figurative painting; each is described and analysed in terms of colour, medium, content and scale, supplemented by a range of comparative material demonstrating stylistic influences, especially the pivotal role and impact of Cubism in general on the three European painters. This book is based on one of the series of A. W. Mellon Lectures in Fine Arts, delivered by the author at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. With its wealth of illustrations and highly perceptive insights into the historical background and the individual personalities of the painters under discussion, supplemented by quotations from their writings on art, it provides a scholarly yet accessible approach to an understanding of the content and meaning of abstract art at its best and most profound.

About this title

About the Author

John Golding CBE is a renowned painter, curator and art historian He has written widely on the history of art, notably Visions of the Modern, also published by Thames & Hudson.

From Booklist

Who's afraid of abstract art? Many, many people, it seems. Seldom has an art movement been so misunderstood, yet been so instrumental in shaping the direction of art in so many ways. In this series of lectures, distinguished art historian and critic Golding brings to life an often-disconcerting subject. Studded throughout with colorful illustrations, Golding shows the progression of modern, abstract art from its roots in expressionism and Fauvism to its postmodern expressions. The artists featured--Mondrian, Malevich, Kandinsky, Newman, Rothko, and Still--are all exemplars of a specific turn taken in the development of abstract art. Each chapter illustrates that turn and approachably describes each artist's artistic growth and influence on the future. Golding clearly communicates the artists' visions, the vision of abstract art, and why it's so important to understand the abstract movement in relation to where art is going. Golding's excellent work brings the reader from an artistic cloud of unknowing into expert mode with beauty and precision. Michael Spinella
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Gardners Books
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0500283591
• ISBN 13: 9780500283592
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240