AbeBooks uses their expertise to point the reader in the direction of the best art books. Handy categories for perusal include
- New Art Books
- Deals For the Starving Artist
- Fine Books & Collections: Art in the Collection
- Bookseller Profile: Michael Fagan Fine Art & Rare Books
- Staff pick favorite book: Vitamin P
How else to stumble upon Josef Váchal, for example?
One artist close to Michael's heart is Josef Váchal– who, in layman's terms, could be considered the Czech William Blake . A writer, painter, graphic designer and book-printer, Váchal died in poverty in 1969 after being ostracized by the communist rulers of Czechoslovakia. One of his finest pieces of work is Satanu – a dramatic interpretation of a poem by the Italian Giosuè Carducci. Michael has one copy for sale at $22,500 and he suspects he will never see another one.
"Váchal himself is a great study in contrasts as he expressed a vital spirituality beyond traditional religion," said Michael. "Personally a loner and social reject, he thrived on the edges and enjoyed taking on all forms of the established order. In Satanu, the poem by Carducci gave him visual license to explore new limits of the outrageous."
Váchal made the paper for the copies of Satanu by hand, created the 1000 printed characters of his own making, and printed it in his Prague studio. The book isnumbered by using thumbprints and fingerprints.
Fantastic.
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