Balthus - Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (1908 - 2001) is a French painter of Polish-German-Jewish descent. Both his father, German art historian with Polish roots Erich Klossowski, and his mother, German of Jewish descent Elisabeth Dorothea Spiro, daughter of Abraham Baer Spiro, cantor of the White Stork Synagogue in Wroclaw, were involved in painting. Also Balthus' uncle, Eugen Spiro was a painter. In 1914, after the outbreak of World War 1, the Klossowskis moved first to Germany and then to Switzerland. Officially, Balthus made his debut as early as 1921 with a series of forty ink-drawn pictures he made when he was eight years old, depicting the adventures of Mitsou the cat, and collected in a volume published and prefaced by Rainer Maria Rilke. In 1924 Balthus returned to Paris where he began his art studies. His first exhibition was held at a gallery in Paris. Balthus' paintings, original and defying attempts at classification, are among the most passionate phenomena of 20th century art. The artist maintains realism, but his painted interiors and cityscapes are close to surrealism. Despite everything, he did not want to be associated with this movement. In fact, he did not join any group or school. A frequent motif of his works are cats and young girls painted in residential interiors. In addition to paintings, Balthus also created book illustrations and theater sets. He said that his painting was deeply religious, and that painting itself was a prayer. However, his first exhibition in Paris already caused controversy. The artist gained a reputation for painting young, defiant girls. However, the author explained that it was a state of freedom and confidence inherent in childhood, a state of joyful innocence. Balthus' brother was the well-known French philosopher Pierre Klossowski. In 1998, he received an honorary doctorate from the Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw. He was also the recipient of the Emperor of Japan Award given to him in 1991.
Read more about the artist on the blog: KING OF CATS
