Claudio Bravo: Paintings and Drawings

by Paul Bowles, Edward J. Sullivan

Claudio Bravo is one of the world's greatest hyperrealist painters, but such a label is too simple and insufficient for his dramatic, enigmatic work. He is known for his use of color, which seems to become more extravagant with the passage of time, and the increasingly mysterious arrangement of objects in his photo-perfect still lifes.Arranged in more or less chronological order, this newly updated volume traces Bravo's four decades of painting and drawing. The book also includes a catalogue raisonné, lists of exhibitions and collections, and bibliography, making it an invaluable resource for scholars as well as a highly readable profile of a remarkable man. "Bravo's paintings combine the precision of hyperrealism with the lush texture of a centuries-old classic, leaving one to ponder how, say, a rendering of a goat-each strand of hair taken into account-can mirror reality so acutely and, at the same time, transcend it." -New York Times Book Review

454 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Paul Frederic Bowles grew up in New York, and attended college at the University of Virginia before traveling to Paris, where became a part of Gertrude Stein's literary and artistic circle. Following her advice, he took his first trip to Tangiers in 1931 with his friend, composer Aaron Copeland.

In 1938 he married author and playwright Jane Auer (see: Jane Bowles). He moved to Tangiers permanently in 1947, with Auer following him there in 1948. There they became fixtures of the American and European expatriate scene, their visitors including Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams and Gore Vidal. Bowles continued to live in Tangiers after the death of his wife in 1973.

Bowles died of heart failure in Tangier on November 18, 1999. His ashes were interred near the graves of his parents and grandparents in Lakemont, New York.

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

His paintings are breathtaking--and these are just the reproductions. I can only imagine what the original paintings feel like when you see them in an exhibit.

[Alberto Arredondo estrada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maravillosa edicion del trabajo de Claudio Bravo.