Balthus

"The first full-scale biography of one of the most elusive and enigmatic painters of our time - the self-proclaimed Count Balthus Klossowski de Rola - whose brilliantly rendered, markedly sexualized portraits, especially of young girls, are among the most memorable images in contemporary art."--BOOK JACKET. "In 1934 his first exhibition, in Paris, stunned the art world. The seven canvases drew attention to his extraordinary technique - a mix of tradition and imagination informed by the work of Piero della Francesca, Courbet, and Joseph Reinhardt, but unique to the twenty-six-year-old artist -…