The Art of Rivalry
Four Friendships, Betrayals, and Breakthroughs in Modern Art
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Profile Books Ltd
Published:5th Oct '17
Should be back in stock very soon
This book explores the unique rivalries among famous artists, revealing how admiration and competition shaped their creative journeys, particularly in The Art of Rivalry.
In The Art of Rivalry, Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Sebastian Smee delves into the complex relationships between some of the most influential artists in history. This narrative focuses on the unique form of rivalry that arises not from animosity, but from admiration and friendship. The book highlights the intricate dynamics between renowned pairs such as Degas and Manet, Picasso and Matisse, and Pollock and de Kooning, illustrating how their connections fueled both creativity and conflict.
As Smee explores these relationships, he reveals how the tension between admiration and competition drove these artists to unprecedented heights of innovation. For instance, Matisse's success was perceived as a threat by Picasso, leading to moments of jealousy that manifested in surprising ways. The author recounts how Picasso's friends would mockingly target Matisse's daughter in jest, showcasing the playful yet intense nature of their rivalry. Similarly, the complicated friendship between de Kooning and Pollock is examined, particularly how it was tested by personal betrayals, such as de Kooning's involvement with Pollock's lover shortly after his tragic death.
Ultimately, The Art of Rivalry illustrates how these intertwined relationships shaped the trajectory of modern art. By examining the interplay of love, admiration, and betrayal, Smee provides a nuanced perspective on how these artists influenced one another, revealing the profound impact of rivalry on their creative processes and legacies.
Intriguing ... Smee writes beautifully ... tantalising -- Lynn Barber * Sunday Times *
Elegant ... accomplished -- Michael Prodger * The Times *
Lively and engaging -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *
A fascinating examination ... This is art history as human friction - one in the eye for those who think art is a high-minded enterprise. * Tatler *
The keynotes of Sebastian Smee's criticism have always included a fine feeling for the what of art - he knows how to evoke the way pictures really strike the eye - and an equal sense of the how of art: how art emerges from the background of social history. To these he now adds a remarkable capacity for getting down the who of art - the enigma of artist's personalities, and the way that, two at a time, they can often intersect to reshape each in the other¹s image. With these gifts all on the page together, The Art of Rivalry gives us a remarkable and engrossing book on pretty much the whole of art. * Adam Gopnik *
A magnificent book on the relationships at the roots of artistic genius. Smee offers a gripping tale of the fine line between friendship and competition, tracing how the ties that torment us most are often the ones that inspire us most. * Adam Grant, Wharton professor and New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take *
Modern art's major pairs of frenemies are a subject so fascinating, it's strange to have a book on it only now - and a stroke of luck, for us, that the author is Sebastian Smee. He brings the perfect combination of artistic taste and human understanding, and a prose style as clear as spring water, to the drama and occasional comedy of men who inspired and annoyed one another to otherwise inexplicable heights of greatness. * Peter Schjeldahl, art critic of the New Yorker *
One of those rare books that manages to show,convincingly, the exalted stuff of genius emerging from the low chaos of life * Economist *
ISBN: 9781781251669
Dimensions: 196mm x 130mm x 30mm
Weight: 300g
416 pages
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