Arnulf Rainer: Rosarot Himmelblau

An exploration of the overpainting technique that gained Arnulf Rainer worldwide renown.
 
Austrian artist Arnulf Rainer is best known for layering dark paint over photographs, covering and altering existing artworks. But Rainer has also deployed this overpainting technique with other hues—red, blue, green, and white. This volume vividly demonstrates the range of color in Rainer’s work, as well as the way he applies paint. The energetic strength in his hand and finger paintings from the 1970s and 1980s eventually gave way to a transparent painting method, which used broad brushes to apply paint like a veil. A visually stunning book that overturns expectations about a celebrated contemporary artist, Arnulf Rainer features works from a wide variety of series, including Blattmalerei, Engel, Geologica, Goya, Landschaften, Mikrokosmos, and Makrokosmos.

Helmut Friedl is the former director of the Lenbachhaus Munich.