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Conseils à un jeune peintre

Thomas Schlesser

Rilke wrote Letters to a young poet. Addressing himself to visual artists, the author also chose in this case to give advice. He is wise and picks them out, not from his own experience but rather from that of the painters of the past. Advice you say? Aphorisms would be more like, which one can follow or not… and which in any case show that artists have known how to use a pen almost as well as the paintbrush. Aside from Fromentin, William Blake or Victor Hugo, whose polyvalence is well known, now we have David d’Angers, Bourdelle, Archipenko or Arman. A few expected entries such as white, color, woman, light, are next to unexpected paragraphs such as spit, United States or parasite. After reading maxims on style, talent or taste, one just has to chose sides between Rodin who claimed that «beauty is everywhere» and Martial Raysse who answered «beauty is bad taste»…

• Conseils à un jeune peintre by Thomas Schlesser, published by Arléa, 2009, 192 p., 15 €, ISBN : 978-2-86-959865-2

Conseils à un jeune peintre - Thomas Schlesser


Review published in the newsletter #150 - from 12 November 2009 to 18 November 2009

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