Artists and Their Muses

Paul Gauguin was first a sailor, then a successful stockbroker in Paris. In 1874 he began to paint at weekends as a Sunday painter. Nine years later, after a stock-market crash, he felt confident of his ability to earn a living for his family by painting and he resigned his position and took up the painter’s brush full time.

Gauguin had only one wife in his life, and little is known about his muses. The painter himself was no romantic, and had a history of assault. But it can be said that his muse perhaps, was Tahiti itself, where he moved to. It was there that he found his style, discovered primitive art, with its flat forms and violent colours, belonging to an untamed nature and set in stone his name in the art world.

Georges Seurat (1859–1891) was a painter whose stunning union of art and science produced uniquely compelling results. Seurat’s intricate paintings could take years to complete, with the magnificent results impressing the viewer with both their scientific complexity and visual impact.

And so it comes as no surprise that it was science itself that gave him so much inspiration. "Some say they see poetry in my paintings," Seurat said. "I see only science."

Schiele embarked on an unflinching exposé of the human form – not the least his own – so penetrating that it is clear he was examining an anatomy more psychological, spiritual and emotional than physical. He painted many townscapes, landscapes, formal portraits and allegorical subjects, but it was his extremely candid works on paper, which are sometimes overtly erotic, together with his penchant for using under-age models that made Schiele vulnerable to censorious morality.

Erotic art has never failed to evoke controversy, and regularly had to defend itself from charges of pornography. This book guides readers from early portrayals of erotic scenes produced in the 16th and 17th centuries, to contemporary highlights such as Picasso’s sketchbook drawings, encompassing a large variety of styles and techniques. You'll get an idea of each artist's style, mood and inspiration.

In Praise of the Backside celebrates the most sensual part of the female body. The insightful text by Hans-Jürgen Döpp discusses the backside as a feature that stands for both powerful eroticism and supple femininity, seducing famous artists from every genre. This title is sure to entice and delight a wide audience with its lively, provocative images.

Today still considered a “Bad Boy”, Pascin was a brilliant artist who lived and worked in the shadow of contemporaries such as Picasso, Modigliani, and several others. A specialist of the feminine form, his canvasses are as tormented as his party lifestyle. The artist, considered scandalous for the erotic character of his works, exhibited in numerous Salons, notably in Berlin, Paris, and New York.

Just as there is a fundamental difference in the use of the words “naked” and “nude”, the unclothed body can evoke a feeling of delight or shame, serving as a symbol of contradictory concepts – beauty and indecency. This book is devoted to representations of the nude by great artists from antiquity and the Italian Renaissance to French Impressionism and contemporary art; from Botticelli and Michelangelo to Cézanne, Renoir, Picasso and Botero. This beautifully produced book provides a collection that will appeal to all art lovers.