Howdy nat1973,
As I was an art history major at one time, with a particular
interest in the Dada and Surrealist movements, this question
was of particualr interest to me. Thanks for allowing me to
brush up on some people of interest.
You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view any "PDF"
document(s) referenced below. If you do not have it, you
can download it from the Adobe website.
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Here is some basic information on Balthus aka Balthazar
Klossowski de Rola. There are many spelling variations
of his name.
The Swiss cosmopolis.ch website talks of Balthus' death.
http://www.cosmopolis.ch/english/cosmo14/balthus.htm
"Ten days before his 93rd birthday, the painter Balthus
(1908-2001) died in his Grand Chalet in Rossinière
[Switzerland]
...
Count Balthazar Klossowski de Rola was born in Paris in
1908 - doubts about his title as a 'Count', on which he
insisted, remain."
This Totonto Globe & Mail web page dated 02/24/01 has
some pictures of the Balthus funeral.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/RTGAMArticleHTMLTemplate/D/20010225/wbalth?tf=RT/fullstory.html&cf=RT/config-neutral&slug=wbalth&date=20010225&archive=RTGAM&site=Front
"Countess Setsuko Klossowski kneels beside the coffin of her
husband, Balthus, in Rossiniere Saturday."
"Bono, singer with rock band U2, speaks with Prince
Sadruddin Aga Khan after the funeral of Balthus, Saturday."
The Palazzo Grassi website pins down the date of his death
http://www.palazzograssi.it/eng/mostre/balthus/intro/biografia.htm
"2001 - 18 February: death of Balthus at Rossinière, Switzerland."
This BBC web page dated, Monday, 19 February, 2001 has the date
of his birth, which was on a leap day.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1178275.stm
"Balthus was born to a family of artists in Paris on
February 29, 1908 - a date which allowed him to joke on
his 92nd birthday that he was in fact only 23."
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources website has some information on Balthus'
widow, Setsuko [Setsuka].
http://www.iucn.org/info_and_news/press/wpcbiosetsuko.pdf
"Countess Setsuko Klossowska de Rola was born in Tokyo in
the Ideta family, an ancient Samouraï family, originally
from Kyoto.
...
Since 1977 she has been living in Switzerland at the Grand
Chalet, Rossinière, last home of Balthus, now the headquarters
of the Balthus Foundation of which she is Honorary President."
The U2 fan website, U2 Station, quotes a Reuters report of the
funeral. Note that Henri Cartier-Bresson was in attendance.
http://www.u2station.com/news/2001/february.html
"ROSSINIERE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Balthus, the highly
respected realist painter of often erotic work, was buried on
Saturday in this Swiss village close to the chalet were he
spent the last 23 years of his long and productive life.
Bono, lead singer of the Irish rock group U2, sang for some 350
mourners including French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson,
Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan and Australian supermodel Elle McPherson."
The Federal Register of Foundations, Swiss Federal Departement
of Home Affairs, website has some information on the Balthus
Foundation.
http://www.edi.admin.ch/esv/e/entry.asp?Id=2019
"Fondation Balthus Klossowski de Rola
Keyword: Balthus
Address: Le Grand Chalet
1836 Rossinière"
The description of the foundation, as translated by Google.
"The purpose of the foundation is to make known with the
public and the researchers work, the influence, the life
and the universe of the count Balthazar Klossowski de Rola,
known as Balthus."
Google HTML/cache of this Swiss Intellectual Property
Office web page, gives us more detail of the address.
http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:www.ige.ch/data/pmmbl/pmmbl02/P_2002_8_III.pdf
Le Grand Chalet
1836 Rossinière et Charuvan
Sursock, 162, rte. de Bellebouche, 1254 Jussy.
From the Jenisch Gallery website, a slightly different
address, but a possible phone and fax number.
http://www.museejenisch.ch/expositions/balthus/
Siège de la Fondation Balthus
Le Grand Chalet,
CH - 1659 Rossinière, VD
Contact
Tél: +41 22 346 88 41
Fax: +41 22 347 11 33
Ironically, considering that the works of Balthus have sometimes
been described as child pornography by some people, the pedophilia
prevention organization, Association MARCHE BLANCHE, lists Balthus'
daughter, Harumi [Haroumi] as a supporter, and as the Honorary
President of the Balthus Foundation.
http://www.marche-blanche.ch/comite.php
"Harumi Klossowska, Creator of fine jewellery and Honorary
President of the Balthus Foundation."
If you need any clarification, feel free to ask.
Search Strategy:
Personal experience as a one-time art history major, specifically
studying the Dadaist and Surrealist periods.
Google search on: Balthus surrealist
://www.google.com/search?q=Balthus+surrealist
Google search on: "Balthus Foundation"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Balthus+Foundation%22
Google search on: "Le Grand Chalet" Balthus
://www.google.com/search?q=%22Le+Grand+Chalet%22+Balthus
Looking Forward, denco-ga |
