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346 Books artist and his contemporaries complement the fine text and numerous reproductions to make this a comprehensive presentation of the artist and his work. The second book on Max Ernst was also published in conjunction with an exhibition, this one at Barcelona's Galeria Joan Prats. But it is much more than a catalog,as it reproduces many more works than are included in the exhibition. There are 150 illustrations, the major part of them beautifully reproduced in color. Most are different from those in the Guggenheim catalog. Pere Gimferrer's short but provocative introduction (in Catalan, Castillian and French) presents a sensitive analysis of the artist's stylistic and technical development. He sees the artist's activity revolving around 3major poles: the opposition of closed and open space, the intercommunication between the different kingdoms of nature and that between natural and mechanical or man-made objects. His interpretation of Ernst's iconography is subjective but very perceptive, though he occasionally misreads the imagery, as in his discussion of one of the collages in the series 'Lieux Communs', where he sees what is obviously a centipede as a fishbone, and a torso of a woman in a bathing suit with her arms behind her shown upside down in a window as '... an indefinable figure with a vague resemblance to both a mattress and a human personage with a featureless face ... with legs distorted in an anguished position of a ballerina or acrobat. ...'. The book is handsomely edited and the selection of works illustrated makes it a useful complement to the Guggenheim publication. The volume on Dali is not written by an art historian or critic. Luis Romero is an award-winning Spanish novelist who has also written several very informative books on the Spanish Civil War. He keeps in close touch with the contemporary Spanish art scene and counts many painters, including Salvador Dali, among his personal friends. This book is the result of conversations with Dali over a period ofsome five years, combined with the author's own investigation of documents, articles, paintings, drawings, reproductions, etc. We are thus presented with a closeup view of the artist's complex and contradictory personality, his 'whole cosmogonic ensemble' which Dali himselfonce said is even more important than his painting [cf. Molleda, with Salvador Dali at Port Liigat, Arts Mag. (New York) (Feb. 1963)]. Romero shows us a Dali unknown to the general public, a highly intelligent, active mind, creative, full ofstrange ideas, volatile, never at rest. The author's most valuable contribution, however, is his detailed, section by section study of one painting, 'Torero Alucin6geno', 1969-1970, which he subjects to a minute iconographic analysis. He searches for the meaning of each image, reproducing other works by Dali that use the same imagery and by other artists who might be sources. He records Dali's comments and adds his own interpretation to give an insight into the artist's manner of thinking and working. Over 400 black and white and excellent color reproductions, selected and arranged by the author, include many closeup details ofthe paintings. There are also numerous photographs of Port Liigat and the surrounding landscape that has served as an inspiration for many of the paintings and that are interesting to compare with the artist's interpretation. There is an index of reproductions but, unfortunately, no general index. This is an extremely valuable addition to the literature on one of the most controversial artists of our time. The Art ofRomare Bearden: The Prevalence of Ritual. M. Bunch Washington. Abrams, New York, 1973. 236 pp., illus. $35.00. Reviewed by Margaret T. G. Burroughs* This excellent and unusual book is undoubtedly one ofthe finest that has been published about an Afro-American artist and is among the best about artists in the U.S.A., regardless of their ethnic origin. It includes personal statements by the artist, commentaries by the artist-educator M. Bunch Washington, numerous illustrations, many in full color, a bibliography, chronology and exhibitions list. Bearden has raised the art of collage to a high level, which I find unmatched by any contemporary artist. What is most *The DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 East 56th...

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