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Balthus
1961 - 1977
Biography
"Restoring Villa Medici to its former glory was a real obsession for me. It was a matter that had something to do with spiritual life, a way of preserving life. In fact, my friend Fellini felt this very strongly: "I see you," he said, "as the guardian of the heritage where history has deposited the culture of mankind. Born in Paris to a family of Polish origin who had fled East Prussia, Balthazar Klossowski de Rola, known as Balthus, was the son of art critic Erich Klossowski and Elizabeth Dorothea Spiro, nicknamed Baladine. Balthus is also the brother of writer and philosopher Pierre Klossowski.
Balthus was born in Paris, but because of his origins, his family fled to Switzerland during the First World War. His paintings are relatively rare, numbering only around 300, many of which are undated. He remains famous for his pictures of young girls, often painted in ambiguous poses, playing on the idea of innocence lost in adolescence. He remained a figurative artist at a time when abstraction was king.
His mother Baladine met the poet Rilke in 1919: Balthus was then 11 years old and published his first book of drawings, Mitsou, under the impetus of his famous mentor. He signed the book Baltusz, the nickname given to him at the time, which he later changed to Baltus and then Balthus. During his adolescence, he benefited from his mother's many acquaintances, including André Gide, Maurice Denis and Pierre Bonnard. As soon as war was declared, Balthus, although shunted between Berlin, Berne, Geneva and Beatenberg, grew up in a cultural environment conducive to the development of a rare personality. Returning to Paris in 1924, he refused to attend the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts and enrolled as a free student at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. In 1925, at the Louvre, Balthus relentlessly copied Poussin's Echo and Narcissus for three months. Then, in the summer of 1926, like all well-born artists, he traveled to Italy. The painter was nourished by Masaccio, Masolino and the frescoes of Piero della Francesca's History of the True Cross (San Francesco church, Arezzo). In 1929, he exhibited for the first time in Zürich, without much success. He moved to Paris in 1933. He came into contact with the Surrealist movement through Pierre Loeb, but had little in common with André Breton's movement. In 1934, he exhibited a series of paintings of equivocally dressed young girls that would make him famous. In 1937, he married Antoinette de Watteville, who modeled for him in several paintings, including La Toilette (1933, Centre Pompidou, Paris) and Jeune fille en costume d'amazone (1932, Stanislas Klossowski collection). He was mobilized in Alsace at the start of the Second World War, but was soon demobilized for mysterious reasons. In 1953, he left Paris for the Château de Chassy in Burgundy, where he remained for almost eight years.
In 1961, he was appointed Director of the Academy de France in Rome, at Villa Medici, by the Minister of Culture André Malraux.
He undertook extensive restoration work on the Villa Medici's buildings and gardens, which he left his mark on until 1977, willingly taking part in long conversations with young people fellows. During his stay in Italy, Balthus made friends with film-maker Federico Fellini and painter Renato Guttuso.
Sent by Malraux on an official mission to Japan in 1962, he became increasingly interested in Far Eastern art, and in 1967 married a young Japanese painter, Setsuko Ideta, the heroine of Chambre turque (1963-1966, Musée national d'Art moderne, Centre Georges-Pompidou, Paris). In 1983, the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris organized a retrospective for which Balthus painted a self-portrait of himself, but from behind, a very personal way of preserving the aura of mystery with which he never ceased to surround himself. Balthus died at the age of ninety-two on February 18, 2001, in his chalet in Rossinière (canton of Vaud, Switzerland), where he had lived since 1977, leaving his last painting, "Jeune fille à la mandoline", unfinished. This painting was unveiled to the public at the exhibition - actively supported by Balthus's industrialist and friend Giovanni Agnelli - dedicated to the master in Venice, an enchanting and grandiose retrospective featuring over 250 works.
Balthus was born in Paris, but because of his origins, his family fled to Switzerland during the First World War. His paintings are relatively rare, numbering only around 300, many of which are undated. He remains famous for his pictures of young girls, often painted in ambiguous poses, playing on the idea of innocence lost in adolescence. He remained a figurative artist at a time when abstraction was king.
His mother Baladine met the poet Rilke in 1919: Balthus was then 11 years old and published his first book of drawings, Mitsou, under the impetus of his famous mentor. He signed the book Baltusz, the nickname given to him at the time, which he later changed to Baltus and then Balthus. During his adolescence, he benefited from his mother's many acquaintances, including André Gide, Maurice Denis and Pierre Bonnard. As soon as war was declared, Balthus, although shunted between Berlin, Berne, Geneva and Beatenberg, grew up in a cultural environment conducive to the development of a rare personality. Returning to Paris in 1924, he refused to attend the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts and enrolled as a free student at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. In 1925, at the Louvre, Balthus relentlessly copied Poussin's Echo and Narcissus for three months. Then, in the summer of 1926, like all well-born artists, he traveled to Italy. The painter was nourished by Masaccio, Masolino and the frescoes of Piero della Francesca's History of the True Cross (San Francesco church, Arezzo). In 1929, he exhibited for the first time in Zürich, without much success. He moved to Paris in 1933. He came into contact with the Surrealist movement through Pierre Loeb, but had little in common with André Breton's movement. In 1934, he exhibited a series of paintings of equivocally dressed young girls that would make him famous. In 1937, he married Antoinette de Watteville, who modeled for him in several paintings, including La Toilette (1933, Centre Pompidou, Paris) and Jeune fille en costume d'amazone (1932, Stanislas Klossowski collection). He was mobilized in Alsace at the start of the Second World War, but was soon demobilized for mysterious reasons. In 1953, he left Paris for the Château de Chassy in Burgundy, where he remained for almost eight years.
In 1961, he was appointed Director of the Academy de France in Rome, at Villa Medici, by the Minister of Culture André Malraux.
He undertook extensive restoration work on the Villa Medici's buildings and gardens, which he left his mark on until 1977, willingly taking part in long conversations with young people fellows. During his stay in Italy, Balthus made friends with film-maker Federico Fellini and painter Renato Guttuso.
Sent by Malraux on an official mission to Japan in 1962, he became increasingly interested in Far Eastern art, and in 1967 married a young Japanese painter, Setsuko Ideta, the heroine of Chambre turque (1963-1966, Musée national d'Art moderne, Centre Georges-Pompidou, Paris). In 1983, the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris organized a retrospective for which Balthus painted a self-portrait of himself, but from behind, a very personal way of preserving the aura of mystery with which he never ceased to surround himself. Balthus died at the age of ninety-two on February 18, 2001, in his chalet in Rossinière (canton of Vaud, Switzerland), where he had lived since 1977, leaving his last painting, "Jeune fille à la mandoline", unfinished. This painting was unveiled to the public at the exhibition - actively supported by Balthus's industrialist and friend Giovanni Agnelli - dedicated to the master in Venice, an enchanting and grandiose retrospective featuring over 250 works.
Project
1961-1979