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100 Artists of the Male Figure: A Contemporary Anthology of Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture
Images of the classical female figure are more prevalent in the contemporary figurative art world, as the nude male has been shunned as too potent or treated as a sex symbol. This book bravely showcases works by male and female artists from around the world that focus on this classic subject. Painting, drawings, and sculptures display broad and varied styles, including portraiture, studies, Pop Art, abstract, and photorealism. Read each artist's approach to the male figure through candid personal statements. Nearly 400 works capture masculine beauty in many styles. This resource brings balance to the figurative art world and is an ideal reference for artists, curators, dealers, students, and collectors.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published February 28, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 19, 2011
Restoration, Respect and Homage
E. Gibbons and Schiffer Publishing Ltd. deserve a round of kudos for the courage to place before the general public a book as fine as 100 ARTISTS OF THE MALE FIGURE: A CONTEMPORARY ANTHOLOGY OF PAINTING, DRAWING, AND SCULPTURE. This book has been the brainchild of artist Gibbons that has been brewing for some time. With the now year long publication of the art quarterly THE ART OF MAN He began his commitment to gain public introduction to the fine art of artists who happen to include images of the male figure in their repertoire, not as a skewed branch of eroticism but simply for the purpose of overcoming the too frequently encountered stigma of books offering image of males as 'outsider', designed for a special audience alone. Even in this age when there is considerable more freedom of expression of the male figure by the famous artists of the day - Lucian Freud, Francesco Clemente, Theophilus Brown, Bo Bartlett, John Currin, Kehinde Wiley, Eric Fischl, Odd Nerdrum et al - the exposure of artists who have the gift to restore the dignity of the male figure to the level of the beginnings of art in the Greco-Roman realm has been slighted.
In this fine book there are 100 excellent artists presented in a well designed format: each artist is given two pages for a photograph, a brief and often pithy and erudite artist statement, and large scale reproductions of some of their paintings. Many of the artists included in this collection are very well established and will be readily recognized while others are less well-known but equally talented practitioners of their art. The artists selected by Gibbons range from classically oriented, to expressionistic, to illustrative, to finely executed sculptors. Reading through this book will be an eye opening experience for almost every art lover. This book is an open invitation to celebrate the male form and the artists who devote a hefty part of their output to lifting the male figure back onto the plinth that has too long been neglected. This is a very sophisticated book and we can only hope there will be future volumes allowing even more artists to be viewed and appreciated. Highly Recommended.
Grady Harp
E. Gibbons and Schiffer Publishing Ltd. deserve a round of kudos for the courage to place before the general public a book as fine as 100 ARTISTS OF THE MALE FIGURE: A CONTEMPORARY ANTHOLOGY OF PAINTING, DRAWING, AND SCULPTURE. This book has been the brainchild of artist Gibbons that has been brewing for some time. With the now year long publication of the art quarterly THE ART OF MAN He began his commitment to gain public introduction to the fine art of artists who happen to include images of the male figure in their repertoire, not as a skewed branch of eroticism but simply for the purpose of overcoming the too frequently encountered stigma of books offering image of males as 'outsider', designed for a special audience alone. Even in this age when there is considerable more freedom of expression of the male figure by the famous artists of the day - Lucian Freud, Francesco Clemente, Theophilus Brown, Bo Bartlett, John Currin, Kehinde Wiley, Eric Fischl, Odd Nerdrum et al - the exposure of artists who have the gift to restore the dignity of the male figure to the level of the beginnings of art in the Greco-Roman realm has been slighted.
In this fine book there are 100 excellent artists presented in a well designed format: each artist is given two pages for a photograph, a brief and often pithy and erudite artist statement, and large scale reproductions of some of their paintings. Many of the artists included in this collection are very well established and will be readily recognized while others are less well-known but equally talented practitioners of their art. The artists selected by Gibbons range from classically oriented, to expressionistic, to illustrative, to finely executed sculptors. Reading through this book will be an eye opening experience for almost every art lover. This book is an open invitation to celebrate the male form and the artists who devote a hefty part of their output to lifting the male figure back onto the plinth that has too long been neglected. This is a very sophisticated book and we can only hope there will be future volumes allowing even more artists to be viewed and appreciated. Highly Recommended.
Grady Harp
June 3, 2013
It's great to see soo many different artists in one book and to read about the background and motivation to make their art!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews