Soutine | Kossoff (Paperback)

This beautifully illustrated book is the first to bring together two major figures of 20th century painting: the Belarus-born artist Chaim Soutine (1893-1943) and British painter Leon Kossoff (1926-2019). These two highly individual artists – one a master of the School of Paris, the other a master of the School of London – shared a fascination for the human predicament and a lifelong desire to express their feelings in paint. Kossoff | Soutine focuses primarily on landscape and portraiture, areas of interest shared by both painters. Among the works included are some that are internationally famous and others that have rarely been exhibited or reproduced before. In the first introductory essay exhibition curator James Russell examines the push and pull of similarity and difference between two artists who shared a deep reverence for the history of European painting and an unshakeable belief in the continuing value of exploring the world, and their feelings about the world, in paint. In the second, art historian Simonetta Fraquelli sets this artistic relationship in context, exploring the processes by which Soutine’s paintings came to influence and inspire a generation of painters on both sides of the Atlantic. Featuring details of works by both artists, this book brings to life two vibrant artistic personalities – contrasting personalities in some ways, but with fascinating similarities. Though very different in approach and style, both Soutine and Kossoff created transcendent works of art from the stuff of everyday life.