First edition (1962) copy of Raoul Dufy by Raymond Cogniat
Artist Raoul Dufy's work and life.
This book moves away from the traditional interpretation of Dufy as a painter of pleasurable bourgeois pastimes. While not ignoring the undeniable hedonistic nature of his work, it sets out to show the gradual development of his personal style and his constant pursuit of new artistic expressions, highlighting the more introspective and reflective side of his oeuvre. Dufy was among the early 20th-century artists who did the most to combine the "greater" and "lesser" arts; like Gauguin before him, he made decoration the focus of his artistic concerns and succeeded in giving free rein to his decorative imagination.
Despite his fame, Raoul Dufy (1877-1953) may be said to be somewhat misunderstood as an artist, since many critics tend to concentrate on his charm and skill rather than on the equally undeniable elements of greatness in his painting
Dufy experimented with a wide variety of techniques, not as a dilettante but with a desire to employ in his art the widest possible range of expression. An account of his life reveals an unceasing striving for perfection which may mistakenly be taken for facility.In his ceramics, textiles and etchings Raoul Dufy invariably pursued the same ends as in his paintings and sought the same ideal of per-fection. An analysis of his career from his early days in the Fauve group through his success in the decorative arts constitutes an important chapter in the history of contemporary art.
Raymond Cogniat, author of The Century of the Impressionists, who knew Dufy and on many occasions had the opportunity of hearing him express his own ideas and theories, is singularly qualified to trace his artistic evo-lution. In this volume, written in a style as direct and as simple as Dufy's own, he succeeds in showing us the true stature of the artist and the full scope of his work, unquestionably of paramount importance to any connoisseur of modern art.
Author: Raymond Cogniat
Edition/year: 1st, 1962, Crown Publishers, Inc.
Condition: Good vintage condition
Dimensions: 11" x 8.5" x 0.5"
