Carol Jacobi – författare

James McNeill Whistler rewrote the rules of what it meant to be an artist. A truly global figure, he pioneered innovative techniques, creating astonishingly beautiful, ethereal visions of modern life that would earn him a place as one of the most influential artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.A boldly experimental artist and cosmopolitan celebrity, Whistler disrupted the conventions of Victorian society in pursuit of truth, beauty and progress. Mobilising novel marketing and media possibilities, he was one of the first to understand the force of performance, self-publishing, satire and scandal to advance serious ideas. He built a career unrepentantly at odds with and ahead of his times – too avant-garde for the avant-garde, it was sometimes said.Illustrated with the artist’s world-famous paintings alongside rarely seen works, this sumptuous monograph includes exquisite portraits, drawings, prints and designs, from as early as his teens in St Petersburg to the enigmatic late self-portraits. An international selection of writers look afresh at this audacious artist, casting new light on his unsettled life, and the way he redefined the special value of the artist in a shifting, materialist world.

“I love this book! Brilliant biography of the…utterly fascinating artist Isabel Rawsthorne” Jennifer Higgie “Every page is gripping, fascinating, forcefully and excitingly written, and sad.” Andrew Motion “Isabel Rawsthorne’s life reads like a ready-made screenplay… – a poverty stricken upbringing, world wars, espionage, affairs, addiction, politics … all set to a series of evocative cinematic backdrops. And that’s before any mention of her career as one of the most hidden but influential artists of the 20th century.” Interiors and Home “Jacobi’s bigger project here, seems to be to reimagine what an artist biography… can be.” The Art Newspaper “Highlights how talented women have often missed out on the recognition they deserved” Observer Isabel Rawsthorne’s painting career at the centre of the Parisian and London avantgardes was eclipsed by the many occasions on which her friends made her the subject of their art, notably Epstein, Derain, Giacometti, Picasso and Bacon. This pioneering painter exhibited from the early 1930s, was influential in the 1940s and well known in the 1960s, but in her later years Giacometti’s and Bacon’s blockbuster biographies made her famous as a muse. Rawsthorne’s work is now in major collections, and this beautifully illustrated book re-writes the pre- and post-war art history of which she was a part: it is traced through the upheavals of the 20th century and her singular relationships with some of its most fascinating figures. A decade of research into the period, Rawsthorne’s art and archives, and the memories of friends, has revealed for the first time her role in a rebel group at Liverpool School of Art; success and tragedy in the 1930s when she was studio assistant to Jacob Epstein; her life-long collaborations with Alberto Giacometti; and, after the war, with Francis Bacon and with African Modernism in the 1960s, as well as her exceptional late work. It also tells the full story of her break from art during the second world war, when she worked for the government in black propaganda.

This is a fundamental reassessment of the work of William Holman Hunt, and the first critical text to reproduce his pictures in colour and set him on an international stage. Introducing a new critique of the autobiography and drawing on hundreds of private letters, drawings and paintings, the author depicts a radical man of his times, deeply troubled by the pivotal concerns of the materialist age - the isolation of the individual, the collapse of faith and the status of art - and seeking solutions through a systematic testing of the extremes of painting. A close examination of the pictures, including neglected later works, combined with recent scientific research relate the physical act of painting, and the paint, back to the body of the artist. Lavishly illustrated and engagingly written, this book answers the longstanding lack of any monograph on Hunt and will make compelling reading for undergraduate and graduate students of History of Art, Victorian Studies, English Literature and Religious Studies, as well as curators, conservators and the artist’s many admirers.

A lively and accessible introduction to the life and work of some of the best-known and best-loved Impressionists. In the 1870s France was devastated by the Franco-Prussian war, and violent insurrection in Paris drove numerous Impressionist artists to seek refuge in England. Their experiences in London and the friendships that developed not only influenced their own work, but also contributed to the British art scene. Part of the Tate Introduction series, this book offers a concise and engaging account of some of the best-known and best-loved impressionists' lives, works and the ongoing debates concerning their significance.

The first major exhibition both to explore the impact of British culture on Vincent van Gogh and to trace the introduction of his art into Britain and its legacy in the works of British painters. Published to accompany the show, this lavishly illustrated publication illustrates fifty van Gogh paintings, and traces the story from the artist's obscure years in England in the 1870s through his growing influence and reputation to iconic status in the 1950s. These works are accompanied by paintings by British artists that affected him and which he in turn inspired. The publication looks at van Gogh's time in Britain in his early twenties (1873-6), investigating his experience of the largest city in the world and the ideas, books, paintings and prints which caught his attention. These came to the fore in new ways in the following decade when van Gogh became an artist, and reading and the collecting of prints and illustrations informed both his ideals and his practical investigations of a radical, egalitarian style. After his move to France, van Gogh's earlier preoccupations were woven into his wider experience and his dramatically original late works. Van Gogh's brief participation in the cosmopolitan art scene in Paris brought him into contact with British-based painters and collectors who were some of the first to respond to his work, but its full impact came in the twentieth century. The publication focuses on the first displays of van Gogh's work before the First World War and the establishment of his reputation following the war, and then on the Second World War and its aftermath, when the artist's life and work became renowned as an embodiment of embattled human creativity. Essays by leadng experts will explore how van Gogh's work became such an inspiration to modern British artists in the twentieth century, from Sickert to Bacon.

A visually stunning book devoted to the radical Rossetti generation. The Rossettis’ approach to art, love and lifestyles are considered revolutionary. This is explored by a range of short thematic essays containing fresh, and surprising research, accompanied by beautiful and iconic Pre-Raphaelite illustrations. Featuring artworks and writings by Dante Gabriel, Christina and Elizabeth (née Siddal), the book distinguishes the Rossettis from Victorian culture and foregrounds their countercultural roles The publication accompanies the first retrospective of Dante Gabriel Rossetti at Tate and the largest exhibition of his iconic pictures in two decades, and what will also be the most comprehensive exhibition of Elizabeth Siddal’s work for 30 years, featuring rare surviving watercolours and important drawings. The Rossettis will take a fresh look at the fascinating myths surrounding the unconventional relationships between Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth and Jane Morris.

A visually stunning book devoted to the radical Rossetti generation. The Rossettis’ approach to art, love and lifestyles are considered revolutionary. This is explored by a range of short thematic essays containing fresh, and surprising research, accompanied by beautiful and iconic Pre-Raphaelite illustrations. Featuring artworks and writings by Dante Gabriel, Christina and Elizabeth (née Siddal), the book distinguishes the Rossettis from Victorian culture and foregrounds their countercultural roles The publication accompanies the first retrospective of Dante Gabriel Rossetti at Tate and the largest exhibition of his iconic pictures in two decades, and what will also be the most comprehensive exhibition of Elizabeth Siddal’s work for 30 years, featuring rare surviving watercolours and important drawings. The Rossettis will take a fresh look at the fascinating myths surrounding the unconventional relationships between Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Elizabeth Siddal, Fanny Cornforth and Jane Morris.

This book explores Francis Bacon’s deep connection to portraiture and how he challenged traditional definitions of the genre. From his responses to portraiture by earlier artists, to large-scale paintings memorialising lost lovers, works from private and public collections showcase Bacon’s life story. As well as the artist’s self-portraits, sitters include Lucian Freud, Isabel Rawsthorne and lovers Peter Lacy and George Dyer. This is the first publication in over 20 years dedicated to the portraits of Francis Bacon. From his renowned triptychs and paintings of ghostly figures, to tender and psychologically revealing individual portraits, the figurative works displayed in this publication chart the development of a groundbreaking artist, highlighting the influence of his peers and other artists. Edited and with introductory texts by National Portrait Gallery curator, Rosie Broadley, Francis Bacon: Human Presence also features biographies and photographs of Bacon and his circle, bringing lesser-told stories to the fore. A series of short essays from a range of contemporary thinkers and experts on Bacon explore the individuality of the artist through different lenses, providing fresh perspectives on the artist, his portraits and his world.