Balthus.PALAZZO GRASSI Palazzo Grassi (also known as the Palazzo Grassi-Stucky) is an imposing white marble palace on the Grand Canal of Venice. Designed by Giorgio Massari, the building was completed between 1748-1772 for the wealthy Bolognese Grassi family. Was the late Paris-born painter Balthus just another Humbert Humbert driven by a single-minded obsession for posing Lolitas? This 250-work survey, organized by curator Jean Glair glair also glaire n. 1. The white of an egg. 2. A sizing or glaze made of egg white. 3. A viscous substance resembling egg white. , reveals that the artist's undeniable predilection for fairy nymphets still left room for enigmatic landscapes, street scenes, society portraits, and theatrical drawings. An erudite er·u·dite adj. Characterized by erudition; learned. See Synonyms at learned. [Middle English erudit, from Latin old-schooler, Balthus associated with the likes of Giacometti and Artaud. But he also cultivated an ambivalent lifestyle as a reclusive re·clu·sive adj. 1. Seeking or preferring seclusion or isolation. 2. Providing seclusion: a reclusive hut. aristocrat and snobbed his way into history. And not only art history, where he certainly deserves this timely second look: The comprehensive catalogue reviews both the work and the shady biography. Sept. 9-Jan. 6. |
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