Arpad Szenes Catalogue raisonné of drawings and paintings, 2-volume set (book)

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Arpad Szenes – Catalogue Raisonné of Drawings and Paintings
2-Volume Set – Skira Editions, 2006
Author: Chiara Calzetta Jaeger
Publisher: Skira (Italy)
Year: 2006
Format: 2-Volume Set – 920 pages total
Condition: Very good, like new
Language: French

The first complete catalogue raisonné of the work of Arpad Szenes.
This definitive catalogue raisonné brings together nearly 5,000 works: paintings, gouaches, and drawings created between 1905 and 1983. It is an essential resource for collectors, experts, and enthusiasts of 20th-century abstract art.

Arpad Szenes (Budapest, 1897 – Paris, 1985) was a French painter of Hungarian origin, a major figure of the School of Paris and the abstract art movement.

Arriving in Paris in 1925, he met Marie-Hélène Vieira da Silva at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, whom he married in 1930. His Jewish heritage forced him into exile in Brazil during World War II. Returning to Paris in 1947, he obtained French citizenship in 1957.

A body of work poised between Surrealism and luminous abstraction.
Initially close to Surrealism, Arpad Szenes gradually evolved towards a poetic and refined abstraction. Light is at the heart of his pictorial research: he starts with reality, transposes it, and simplifies it to retain only a subtle and vibrant “impression.”

With remarkable economy of means, he composes landscapes and still lifes that are suggested, as if perceived through a “magic mirror.” He particularly excels in capturing the light of the ocean, the rhythm of the winds in the dunes, and the energy-filled voids—a sensibility akin to ancient Chinese pictorial philosophy.

His elliptical style, combining restraint and precision, captivated a devoted and attentive public throughout his life.

Contents of the catalogue raisonné:
– Nearly 5,000 works listed and reproduced (paintings, gouaches, drawings)
– Complete and detailed biography of the artist
– Numerous previously unpublished photographs
– Index, bibliography, and exhibition history

Arpad Szenes-Vieira da Silva Committee
The Arpad Szenes-Vieira da Silva Committee was founded by Vieira da Silva herself in 1991 to promote and authenticate the works of both artists.

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