How Long to Read Vanished Splendors: A Memoir

How Long Does it Take to Read Vanished Splendors: A Memoir?

It takes the average reader 4 hours and 34 minutes to read Vanished Splendors: A Memoir by Balthus

Assuming a reading speed of 250 words per minute. Learn more

Description

The painter Balthus, whose tenacity and cultivated taste for secrecy have enveloped him in an aura of forbidding mystery, wrote this memoir at the end of his long life. A man who for decades opted to "give expression to the world" rather than to "express" himself speaks for the first and only time about his life, family, work, his theory of art and how it intersects with history, literature, and spirituality. Balthus was born Balthasar Klossowski in 1908 to Polish art historian Erich Klossowski and his wife, the painter Elisabeth Dorothea Spiro. The family lived in Germany, France, and Switzerland. In this memoir Balthus describes his childhood with his mother and her lover -- the poet Rainer Maria Rilke -- who became Balthus's own spiritual mentor. He evokes la vie de boheme in Paris during the 1920s, his friendships with Picasso, Derain, Artaud, Giacometti, Saint-Exupéry, René Char, Pierre Jean Jouve, and Albert Camus. He discusses his paintings, offers glimpses into his marriage, and expresses his passion for Chinese art and the Swiss chalets and Italian villas that he helped to restore. He recalls touching moments with his beloved daughter Harumi and the inspiration he drew from his cats. Also, in a kind of final lesson, Balthus shares his thoughts about painting and creation, denounces contemporary art as being illusory and deceitful, and talks candidly about his Catholic faith and how it inspired his work. "We are most charmed by the memoir's ease of expression, as if Balthus were confiding in us, as individuals," writes Joyce Carol Oates in her introduction to Vanished Splendors. "We are brought into a startling intimacy with genius."

How long is Vanished Splendors: A Memoir?

Vanished Splendors: A Memoir by Balthus is 272 pages long, and a total of 68,544 words.

This makes it 92% the length of the average book. It also has 84% more words than the average book.

How Long Does it Take to Read Vanished Splendors: A Memoir Aloud?

The average oral reading speed is 183 words per minute. This means it takes 6 hours and 14 minutes to read Vanished Splendors: A Memoir aloud.

What Reading Level is Vanished Splendors: A Memoir?

Vanished Splendors: A Memoir is suitable for students ages 12 and up.

Note that there may be other factors that effect this rating besides length that are not factored in on this page. This may include things like complex language or sensitive topics not suitable for students of certain ages.

When deciding what to show young students always use your best judgement and consult a professional.

Where Can I Buy Vanished Splendors: A Memoir?

Vanished Splendors: A Memoir by Balthus is sold by several retailers and bookshops. However, Read Time works with Amazon to provide an easier way to purchase books.

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