Balthus, born Balthasar Klossowski de Rola in 1908, was a French-Polish painter known for his enigmatic and provocative figurative art. His work often depicted young girls in dreamlike, sometimes unsettling scenarios, evoking a sense of mystery and psychological tension. Balthus’s paintings typically feature rich, detailed compositions with a focus on form and texture. He rejected the abstract trends of his time, instead embracing a classical approach to painting. Balthus’s art has been both celebrated and controversial, with critics debating the nature of his depictions of youth and sexuality. Despite this, his work has left a lasting impact on the art world, influencing subsequent generations of figurative painters. Balthus passed away in 2001, leaving behind a body of work that continues to captivate and intrigue audiences around the world.

Balthus Quotes

1. “I had only planned to strike the gong violently in order to somehow shake people up and make them more aware. I think I succeeded.”
— Balthus

2. “I refuse to confide and don’t like it when people write about art.”
— Balthus

3. “Painting is the passage from the chaos of the emotions to the order of the possible.”
— Balthus

4. “I always feel the desire to look for the extraordinary in ordinary things; to suggest, not to impose, to leave always a slight touch of mystery in my paintings.”
— Balthus

5. “Painting what I experience, translating what I feel, is a great liberation. But it is also work, self-examination, consciousness, criticism, struggle…”
— Balthus

6. “Painting is a language which cannot be replaced by another language. I don’t know what to say about what I paint, really.”
— Balthus

7. “The best way to begin is to say: Balthus is a painter of whom nothing is known. And now let us have a look at his paintings.”
— Balthus

8. “Very early on, I understood that I secretly and mysteriously belonged to the world of cats.”
— Balthus