Late in their careers, Swiss art dealers Ernst and Hildy Beyeler asked the renowned architect Renzo Piano to design a home for their collection. In 1997, it opened to the public, a low, sunny temple within driving distance of Basel. In its first 10 years it has attracted almost 3,000,000 visitors over some 30 exhibits. The Beyelers had always seen the museum as a place of living involvement and innovation, and the resulting juxtapositions have provided surprising insights and experiences for a broad range of visitors, many of whom are international. The works on show have included Claude Monet to Digital Impressionism, the paintings of Titian and Velazquez and a continuous shifting Mark Rothko installation. In 2008, Samuel Keller, director of the influential European art fair, Art Basel, will assume the directorship of the foundation and continue the Beyelers' life work. This complete catalogue of the foundation's collection documents 230 paintings and sculptures by artists like Cézanne, Picasso, Rousseau, Mondrian, Klee, Ernst, Matisse, Newman, Bacon, Dubuffet and Baselitz.

Betr. u. a. Werke von Paul Klee (S. 156-167). - Engl. Übers.: Fondation Beyeler.

"This book is an in-depth study of this major theme in 20th century art history. It begins with the innovative pictorial conception of Philipp Otto Runge, whose early 19th century paintings featured the last genuine form in the history of ornament, the arabesque. The arabesque had an influence via Symbolism (Maurice Denis, Paul Gauguin) and Art Nouveau (Henry van de Velde, Gustav Klimt, Josef Hoffmann) on painting's move towards abstraction (Vasily Kandinsky, Frantisek Kupka, Adolf Hoelzel), which resulted on the one hand in a non-figurative, geometric structure of lines (Mondrian), and on the other, in the swirls of Matisse and Jackson Pollock. Side by side with the "royal way" of Cubism, arabesque abstraction therefore opens up a second doorway to the world of non-figurative art." "Significant influences also result from the modern artists' preoccupation with the ornamentation found in distant cultures, such as Matisse with the Orient and Oceania, Ad Reinhardt with Asian culture, and American painting with pre-Columbian ornament (Josef Albers, Barnett Newman). Referring also to Minimalism, new media, digital technology, the Renaissance and the Rococo, the book celebrates the impact of ornament on abstract art, as well as showcasing a remarkable array of masterpieces."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Focusing on the close relationship between Monet's late works and the paintings of the post-war modernists. This publication analyses the re-discovery of monet's work and looks beyond the standard cliche's of the 'Monet revival' on both sides of the Atlantic. Texts focus on Monet's late work and provide the necessary basis for these observations. Jacket Inside Cover.

Ernst Beyeler (1921-2010) was a titan of the international art scene in the twentieth century. Born in Basel, Switzerland, he began his career as an apprentice in an antiquarian bookstore, eventually taking over the business and shifting his focus from books to dealing and collecting art. Through his discerning eye for art, his close relationships with many of the twentieth century's great artists, and his role in the foundation of Art Basel, the world's largest art fair, Beyeler transformed his hometown into a hub for international art. Published in English for the first time, A Passion for Art tells Beyeler's unusually personal story, through interviews with Christophe Mory. Beyeler describes the evolution of his career and his encounters with artists such as Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, and Francis Bacon. He also speaks in detail about his own collection, which focuses mainly on twentieth-century artists like Matisse, Mondrian, Klee, and Dubuffet. This art collection is the basis for the Fondation Beyeler, a museum designed by Renzo Piano that houses over 150 pieces of art handpicked by Beyeler. Offering deep insight into the contemporary art trade and presenting an intimate portrait of Beyeler himself, A Passion for Art provides a new and distinctive perspective on the postwar European art world.

Ernst Beyeler est marchand d'art depuis 1945 à Bâle. Bien qu'ayant toujours vécu un peu en marge des grandes places (Paris, New York, Londres), il s'est fait connaître dans le monde entier par la qualité des oeuvres qui ont passé par sa galerie et par les expositions qu'il y organisait. En 1998, il crée la Fondation Beyeler, où il rassemble sa collection, l'une des plus belles qui soient pour l'art du XXe siècle, et plus particulièrement pour l'abstraction (Kandinsky, Klee) et le cubisme (Picasso). De ces conversations avec Christophe Mory ressortent de nombreuses anecdotes relatives au marché de l'art, aux collectionneurs - témoin l'incroyable rencontre avec l'américain David Thompson - et aux artistes (Picasso, Giacometti), mais on y découvre aussi un marchand qui, n'ayant reçu de formation ni artistique ni esthétique, raconte sa passion et son histoire avec les oeuvres d'art.