The Essential Cy Twombly - by Nicola Del Roscio (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Painted poetry: the ultimate monograph on Cy Twombly's painting, drawing, sculpture and photography

Recognized as one of the greatest and most idiosyncratic artists of the postwar era, Cy Twombly left behind an oeuvre of incredible versatility, sensitivity and originality upon his death in 2011 at age 83. Working in the immediate aftermath of abstract expressionism, Twombly developed an intensely personal scription consisting of scrawled letters and words, in an effusive, calligraphic mark-making that suggests a kind of painted poetry. Working across painting, drawing, sculpture and photography with a restless energy, Twombly incorporated the gods of Ancient Greece, the poetry of Stéphane Mallarmé and the history, culture and mythology of the Occident into his art. The Essential Cy Twombly, edited by Twombly's longtime collaborator Nicola Del Roscio, is the ultimate overview of his work, presenting the most important paintings and cycles of paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs from Twombly's diverse oeuvre. The most accessible survey of his work to date, this volume includes essays by Laszlo Glozer, Thierry Greub, Kirk Varnedoe and Simon Schama.

Review Quotes

Exhibit A, Artistc flourishes show her creative side.--The Editors "W Magazine"

Having nearly sixty years of work at hand provides abundant evidence of the paradox governing Twombly's art-the interesting play between the epic scope of his cultural materials and the enigmatic, deeply personal means of their representation.

Twombly's art instructs, perplexes, and ultimately seduces.--Albert Mobilio "Bookforum"

The Essential Cy Twombly, compiled by Nicole Del Roscio, Twombly's longtime companion, presents paintings as well as rarely shown photographs and scultpures from an artist who spent hours drawing in the dark to develop his shaky, spontaneous lines.--T. Fleischmann "Publisher's Weekly"

Twombly has remained the subject of great interest and research, with two enlightening new books - The Essential Cy Twombly and Cy Twombly: Paradise - hitting the shelves this autumn.-- "Another Magazine"

About the Author

Edwin Parker (Cy) Twombly (1928-2011) was born in Lexington, Virginia. He lived and worked in New York in the early 1950s (where he met Robert Rauschenberg, with whom he was to have a long personal and artistic relationship) and studied at the legendary Black Mountain College in North Carolina before traveling around North Africa, Spain and Italy and ultimately settling in Rome before the end of the decade, just as the art world was shifting its center of gravity to New York. Best known for his paintings and drawings, often executed on a massive scale across multiple canvases, Twombly also made sculptures and photographs.