Product Description
Essays by Pierre Schneider and Sylvia Navarrete. Introduction by Bob Littman. Foreword by Hugh M. Davies, John R. Lane, and James K. Ballinger.

The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection is widely regarded as the world's most significant private holding of 20th-century art. The paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photgraphs in the collection represent the broad range of artistic developments in Mexico during the last century, from early experiments with European Cubism to post-revolutionary efforts to develop an indigenous Mexican aesthetic, to the diverse styles and techniques of post-World War II abstraction and realism. This exhibition catalogue features large color reproductions of 75 works by many of the most important Mexican artists, including Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Maria Izquierdo, Jos Clemente Orozco, Carlos Mevida, and Rufino Tamayo, as well as a number of signifcant contemporary figures such as Cisco Jimenez, Sylvia Gruner, and Miguel Caldern. Providing descriptions of individual works as well as artist biographies, this is an excellent overview of major Mexican artists of the 20th century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

amazing collection
this book is an awesome collection of all the art that the gelmans had. i went to the exhibition with my mother and we decided to get the book, she actually worked with the gelmans in mexico as a young girl and she even remembers where some of the paintings where located in the house. this book is a book that would be a great gift for anyone who loves art.

A collection as art itself
If you are looking for a good art book that covers some of the best in Mexican Art than look no further. As part of an exhibition that toured Dallas, Phoenixand San Diego, where I was lucky enough to have seen the impressive collection, this book is full of varied works and styles. Although the emphasis is on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, there are many more artists featured, including Nahum Zenil, Rufino Tamayo, Carlos Orozco Romero, Agustin Lazo, Maria Izquierdo, Lola Alvarez Bravo, Gunther Gerzo and of course the others in the "Three Greats," David Alfaro Siquieros and Jose Clemente Orozco to complete the triad masters of Mexican Art. Some of the art is breathtaking ,original and shocking but all pleasing. There are many more artists featured, to numerous to name,but suffice to say that the broad spectrum of Mexican Art is covered, including the works of contemporary artists as Natasha continued to collect into the 1990's, a decade after her husbands passing. As beautiful and magical as the art is, so varied in form, subjectand media matter, the text is one that teaches about how this collection came to be. The outstanding essays reflect on the intriguing lives of the art collectors, beginning with their meeting and becoming naturalized Mexican citizens from their European exile. The relationship between Jacques Gelmanand the Mexican movie comedian icon Cantinflas, who he discovered, is discussedandthe stuff of legend. Jacques Hollywood connections are also featured, both in essay and pictures. The personal relationships both Jacques and Natasha had with Diego and Frida is now legendary. Although they have European(not featured here) Art in their private collection, their real love was for Mexican Art. The Gelmans devotion and dedication to Mexican Art was their baby they never had. They have nutured and shared their gifts with the rest of the world by keeping their collection intactand it speaks for itself as a collective art piece. If you missed the tour than by all means get this book which features all the exhibitions art pieces, short biographies of the artists and an interestingbilingual text. Recommended for art enthusiasts interested in the evolving art of Mexico.

MEXICO'S BEST ARTISTS
Where can you find a collection of the best of Mexico's artists of the 20th century? Contained in these pages spanning four generations in the 20th century are some of the greatest names in Mexican art. The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection presents for the first time a wide span view of the development of Mexico's greatest treasures in art.

Here you will find Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Jose Orozco and the other older greats of the muralist and painting traditions of Mexico. The art of these "Masters" are rich in their expressions of presenting the indigenous art of the people before the public. You will also find these "Masters" experimenting with impressionism, cubism and surrealism but in the end they develop a style unique to their cultural heritage.

Just viewing the "Masters" alone would be enough but Mexico's artists are progressive in their style as we view the work of the younger artists who have made their mark on the artistic scene. Francisco Toledo, Cisco Jimenez and Marco Arce explode upon the scene with their framented narrative texts, irreverance for religion and interpretations of the myths and legends of their land. Their works are just as stunning, provocative and controversial as their elders.

Such a diverse collection shows the viewer the varied styles and development of Mexican art through the 20th Century. Nothing can match it. Art lovers everywhere will appreciate the styles represented in this collection and will gain a deeper appreciation of Mexico's artistic tradition. ... Read more

Product Description
The renowned Mexican muralist Diego Rivera was also a prodigious storyteller and a witness to some of the most formative social and artistic movements of the twentieth century. A central figure in the emergence of the avant-garde in post-revolutionary Mexico, Rivera was also a keen art critic--if occasionally caustic towards those he disagreed with, he was also a generous promoter of emerging talent. This two-volume set--the first comprehensive collection of Rivera's writings in English--reveals the vision; irony and insight of his rarely examined written work. Included in these two illustrated volumes are selections from Rivera's inventive, partially fabricated autobiography, written in collaboration with Lolo de la Torriente and Gladys March, as well as letters and other previously unpublished essays. The first volume covers his childhood, his years of apprenticeship and his life among the European avant-garde. The second covers his return to Mexico in the wake of its tumultuous and transformative revolution. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"The heart is an eye"
Released by the Smithsonian Institution this book is the catalogthat was used in an exhibition of the same name, organized by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, that was on view in the summer of 1992. Featuring the works of Diego Rivera, Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Matta and Wilfredo Lam,the oversized book is a bilingual text that pays homage to these Latin American pioneers. The essay by Octavio Paz entitled "La Casa de la Mirada"(The House of Glances) is a particularly illuminating poem written for the Chilean Surrealist Roberto Matta. In this poem Paz uses his eloquent prose to describe the innner workings of the mind, the creative process and the visions within. Paz uses analogies to illustrate his thoughts, creates similarties in unorthodox ways, drawing compelling comparisons like saying that the "hand has five eyes" and how we "create in order to see." It is a moving piece of poetry where Paz uses imagery to paint his own canvas. The poem is worth the price of the bookand is one to read over and over. The discussions by the other authors are very satisfying in that they probe and express ideas and much like art itself, invent and reinvent as well as look at the ordinary from an extraordinary perspective. The art itself featured has spiritual overtones and asthetic beauty that is linked to their respective cultural roots. Althoughsome of the art does not really appeal to me I respect it because of the metaphysical transcendence that explores the universal themes of chaos, harmony, human figures, animalsand figurative explorations of African art and pre-Columbian Art into a modern sythesis. There are enough interesting pieces in the bookto make it worthwhile but really the essays are what elevate this book beyond the ordinary catalog. If you are into Latin American art than this book is is for you since it features four of the giants from the early part of the 20th century. Recomended for lovers of art. "Create in order to see." ... Read more

Product Description
Provides an introduction to the life and biography of Diego Rivera, the Hispanic man who showed his love for art and Mexico through his numerous paintings and murals. ... Read more

Product Description
A biography of the noted Mexican muralist discussing his art, his political ties, and his relationship with the painter Frida Kahlo. ... Read more