My first book of the year : Leo Castelli et les siens by Annie Cohen-Solal
One thing I love is to start the new year with an inspiring book, a story which transports me, gives me new horizons. It could be a good novel or thriller but I was quite eager to discover this book Leo Castelli et les siens (Leo Castelli and his family) by Annie Cohen-Solal. It is the biography of famed New York art gallerist Leo Castelli.The author met him in New York 1989 when she worked as cultural counselor to the French Embassy. She fell under the charm of this elegant man and intrigued by his background, set to the task of writing the story of his life which begins in Trieste in 1907.
Annie Cohen-Solal does a super job at describing the social life of this town, and goes back further to the XVIIth century to introduce us to Leo's ancestors. At that time, Trieste was a thriving austrian-hungrian port.
We travel from Trieste to Vienne, where Leo Castelli lived during the first world war, then on to Paris and finally New York in 1940.
I will not bore you with details. What I actually find amazing is the fact that Castelli, besides being an aesthete, but knowing nothing about the art world, opened his art gallery at the very ripe age of 50, in 1957. He felt a true admiration towards artists and often helped them by giving them a regular salary. But mostly, he understood what needed to be done to promote an artist. In that sense, he was a great defender of American art, Andy Warhol, Joseph Kosuth, Jasper Johns and of course Robert Rauschenberg who was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, in 1964.
According to Cohen-Solal, Castelli's accountant was always on the verge of despair because Castelli never quite made money as the earnings were immediately invested in new artists.
This is what I call a true patron of the arts !
I still have a good number of pages to go as it's a thick book of 500p. and since it's cold and wet outside, I don't mind reading most of evenings.....
So tell me, what is your first book of the year ?
We travel from Trieste to Vienne, where Leo Castelli lived during the first world war, then on to Paris and finally New York in 1940.
I will not bore you with details. What I actually find amazing is the fact that Castelli, besides being an aesthete, but knowing nothing about the art world, opened his art gallery at the very ripe age of 50, in 1957. He felt a true admiration towards artists and often helped them by giving them a regular salary. But mostly, he understood what needed to be done to promote an artist. In that sense, he was a great defender of American art, Andy Warhol, Joseph Kosuth, Jasper Johns and of course Robert Rauschenberg who was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, in 1964.
According to Cohen-Solal, Castelli's accountant was always on the verge of despair because Castelli never quite made money as the earnings were immediately invested in new artists.
This is what I call a true patron of the arts !
I still have a good number of pages to go as it's a thick book of 500p. and since it's cold and wet outside, I don't mind reading most of evenings.....
So tell me, what is your first book of the year ?
Comments
Will read this one!
Happy New Year Bella to you and your Cherie~
xox
Constance
My book of the year is and will be one of my favorite Christmas gifts...Great Paintings of the Western World. Although it's mostly a picture book, I am learning art, a-z.
Stay warm and dry, and happy reading, Chica!!
take care,
xxx
Castelli certainly had quite an effect on the Art World! Glad you're enjoying this book. Stay warm!
I've been loving the works of Kate Atkinson. I read her "When Will There Br God News?" and am now reading "Case Histories". I have another one of her works "One Good Turn" ready to go next! These are brilliantly written novels that happen to be about murders etc... You should try them.
Best,
David
http://www.globalaroundtown.blogspot.com
Catherine xx
Greetings from cold and snowy London.