Balthus, R.I.P.

[Dave Monroe]

... er, "highlights" from John Russell, "Balthus, Painter Who Caused a
Stir, Dies at 92," New York Times, Monday, February 19th, 2001 ...

Balthus was born on Feb. 29, 1908. The poet Rainer Maria Rilke once told
him that being born on leap day was like slipping through a crack in
time; it gave Balthus access to "a kingdom independent of all the
changes we undergo."

In 1919, Balthus's mother was befriended by Rilke, the foremost German
poet of the day. Until his death in 1926, Rilke had an intense and
continuous relationship with her and her two sons. In 1921, Rilke wrote
a French text for the publication of "Mitsou," a book of 40 ink drawings
by the 13-year-old Balthus on the subject of a solitary boyhood. In its
way a trial run for ideas that were to haunt Balthus's work for many
years, the little book was described by the eminent German publisher
Kurt Wolff as "astounding and almost frightening."

It was also thanks largely to Rilke that when Balthus went to Paris at
the age of 16 in 1924, many doors were open to him. He was welcomed by
André Gide, the most influential writer of the day, and by Pierre
Bonnard, Albert Marquet and Maurice Denis among painters. When Rilke
came to Paris for five months in 1925, he dedicated his new poem,
"Narcisse," to Balthus. In 1926, with financial help from Rilke, Balthus
spent a year traveling in Italy, where he made copies and sketches after
Piero della Francesca, Masaccio, Masolino and others.

... that little Rilke book, by the way, is not difficult to come by.
Again, something I encounter often enough on my used-book buying
rounds.  I even gave a copy to a Balthus fan friend of mine ...