An Invitation to See

Fülszöveg

AN INVITATION TO SEE
150 WORKS FROM
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
helen m. franc
From the many thousands of paintings, sculptures, and constructions in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, 150 outstanding examples have been selected to indicate the quality and diversity of modern masters and movements from about 1885 to the present day. This book, a substantial revision of An Invitation to See first published in 1973, takes account of new developments in art since then and the Museum's acquisition of notable examples of both earlier and more recent date. Of the 120 paintings reproduced, almost a quarter are new selections; and whereas the original edition was confined to paintings, in the present volume 30 examples of three-dimensional works have been included.
Painters range from late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century pioneers of modernism such as Degas, Cézanne, van Gogh, and Seurat to current artists who challenge the very premises of modernism itself. Sculptures... Tovább

Fülszöveg

AN INVITATION TO SEE
150 WORKS FROM
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
helen m. franc
From the many thousands of paintings, sculptures, and constructions in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, 150 outstanding examples have been selected to indicate the quality and diversity of modern masters and movements from about 1885 to the present day. This book, a substantial revision of An Invitation to See first published in 1973, takes account of new developments in art since then and the Museum's acquisition of notable examples of both earlier and more recent date. Of the 120 paintings reproduced, almost a quarter are new selections; and whereas the original edition was confined to paintings, in the present volume 30 examples of three-dimensional works have been included.
Painters range from late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century pioneers of modernism such as Degas, Cézanne, van Gogh, and Seurat to current artists who challenge the very premises of modernism itself. Sculptures vary from representations of the human figure by Rodin, Matisse, and Moore to an abstraction by Arp, a bird by Brancusi, and a soft sculpture by Oldenburg. Among the constructions are works by Picasso, Calder, and David Smith.
The selections are grouped in pairs or sequences that offer opportunities for contrasts or comparisons — sometimes of an unexpected sort. Such traditional genres as portraits, historical subjects, landscapes, city views, and still life are investigated, as well as the many kinds of abstraction that have evolved during the past century. Different ways of portraying reality and fantasy are discussed, as well as artists' free experimentation with new mediums and means of expression. The comments that accompany the illustrations include frequent quotations from statements by the artists themselves or from writings by distinguished critics.
Helen M. Franc studied art history at Wellesley College and holds graduate degrees from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts and the Sorbonne. She held positions at The Pierpont Morgan Library and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and was Managing Editor of the Magazine of Art and Associate Editor at Harry N. Abrams, Inc. She joined the staff of The Museum of Modern Art in 1954, where she served successively with the International Program, the office of the Director, and the Department of Publications.
Since her retirement as Editor-in-Chief in 1972, she has been active as a writer and free-lance editor. She is co-author with Jean Lipman of Bright Stars: American Painting and Sculpture since 7776.
On the cover: René Magritte. The False Mirror. 1928. Oil on canvas, 2W4 x 317/8 inches. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Purchase
Magritte was a leading exponent of Surrealism, which sought to challenge the "real" world by turning everyday logic topsy-turvy and substitute a different kind of order by juxtaposing objects that are normally dissociated. He adhered to the illusionistic technique and meticulous finish of paintings by the Flemish old masters of his native Belgium, anticipating what Salvador Dali was to call "hand- painted dream photographs."
In The False Mirror equivalents are established between the eye and the cloud-filled sky that forms its iris, the pupil being the black disk that floats like a sun in the center. Isolated from any anatomical reference to a depicted face, the huge eye not only fills the entire length and breadth of the canvas but even seems to extend beyond its edges at left and right. Much of the image's compelling effect is due to this inflated scale. This picture has become a kind of modern icon, frequently copied or adapted, as in the CBS logo and, more recently, in designer clothing and jewelry.
Although Magritte always resisted attempts to interpret his paintings, The False Mirror may nevertheless bear a message for readers of this book: However conscientiously one may strive for objective scrutiny, one's perceptions will inevitably be modified by the subjective workings of the mind's eye.
192 pages, 15g illustrations in color Cover photograph: Kate Keller Published by
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART 11 West 53 Street New York, N.Y. 10019 Vissza