Books by Xavier F. Salomon

Cocktails with a Curator

by Xavier F. Salomon

Join the curators of the Frick as they present engaging histories of works of art paired with creatively inspired cocktails—a crash course in art history and a delightful introduction to the treasures of the esteemed New York collection.

Based on the critically acclaimed video series of the same name, Cocktails with a Curator is a collection of lively and informative essays. Paintings, sculpture, furniture, and porcelain—from medieval times through the glorious Renaissance to the early twentieth century—are discussed for their exemplary status. The creators are some of the greatest artists and include Rembrandt, Vermeer, Whistler, Manet, Velázquez, and Veronese, and the stories (of both artists and subjects) are tantalizing. Cocktails, with recipes, are thematically paired with the works: a Jaded Countess (absinthe, vodka, lemon juice, and simple syrup) with Ingres’s portrait Comtesse d’Haussonville; a classic Pimm’s Cup with Gainsborough’s depiction of English beauty Grace Dalrymple Elliott; and a Bloody Mary (named after the last Catholic regnant queen of England) with Holbein’s painting of Sir Thomas More, who opposed the Reformation of Mary’s father, Henry VIII. The perfect addition to any art connoisseur’s library, this book is an innovative and intoxicating way to enjoy the treasures of a world-renowned art collection.

Rembrandt's Polish Rider (Frick Diptych)

by Maira Kalman, Xavier F. Salomon

Marking the 350th anniversary of the death of Rembrandt van Rijn, this fourth volume in the Frick Diptych series offers fresh insight into one of the artist’s most romantic and enigmatic portraits―The Polish Rider. This painting has been on view at The Frick Collection since the museum opened to the public in December 1935, and has inspired countless theories about its subject, meaning and history.
An illuminating essay by Xavier F. Salomon, the Frick’s Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, addresses the many questions of provenance, attribution, and historical and artistic context. In a creative, vibrant piece, New York based author and illustrator Maira Kalman, captures the elusive nature of the painting; an imaginary musing about Rembrandt, being Polish, a traveller, and her enduring fascination with the Frick.
Designed to foster critical engagement and interest the specialist and non-specialist alike, each book in the Frick Diptych series illuminates a single work in the Frick’s rich collection with an essay by a Frick curator paired with a contribution from a contemporary artist or writer. Other volumes in the series include Holbein’s Sir Thomas More by Hilary Mantel and Xavier F. Salomon, Vermeer’s Mistress and Maid by James Ivory and Margaret Iacono, and Gouthière’s Candelabras by Edmund de Waal and Charlotte Vignon.

Veronese

by Xavier F. Salomon

Paolo Veronese (1528–1588) was one of the great Venetian artists of the Renaissance, whose works were admired for their rich colors and mastery of theatrical narrative. His paintings ranged from decorative fresco schemes and portraits to allegorical, biblical, and historical subjects, produced for an aristocratic international audience.

This definitive reappraisal of the artist also provides a fascinating account of painting and patronage in 16th-century Venice. Xavier F. Salomon traces Veronese’s career from its beginnings in Verona, where he developed an art shaped by the rediscovery of antiquity, to Venice, where he established a successful workshop. Salomon’s discussion of Veronese’s entire output, including his monumental banquet scenes, illuminates the original function of every work, many of them designed for specific locations. Generous illustrations, including numerous details, reveal the distinctive tactile qualities of Veronese’s technique and the beauty of his palette, whether rendering rich textiles, precious metals or female complexions. This splendid book makes a significant contribution to scholarship in the field of 16th-century Venetian painting.

Published by National Gallery Company/Distributed by Yale University Press

Exhibition Schedule:
The National Gallery, London
(03/19/14–06/15/14)

Andrea del Sarto The Renaissance Workshop in Action

by Xavier F. Salomon, Julian Brooks, Denise Allen

The great Renaissance artist Andrea del Sarto (1486–1530) rivals Leonardo da Vinci as one of history’s most accomplished draftsmen. Moving beyond the graceful elegance of his contemporaries, such as Raphael and Fra Bartolommeo, he brought unprecedented realism to his drawings through the rough and rustic use of chalk in his powerfully rendered life and compositional studies. With an immediacy few other Renaissance artists possess, del Sarto’s work has proven to be inspirational and compelling to later audiences, with admirers such as Degas and Redon.

 
This lavishly illustrated book reveals del Sarto's dazzling inventiveness and creative process, presenting fifty core drawings on paper together with a handful of paintings. The first publication to look to del Sarto’s working practice through a close examination of his art from across all the world’s major collections, this volume analyzes new studies of his panel underdrawings as well. The depth and breadth of its research make this book an important contribution to the study of del Sarto and Florentine Renaissance workshop practice.
 
This volume is published to accompany an exhibition on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum from June 23 through September 13, 2015, and at the Frick Collection in New York from October 6, 2015, though January 10, 2016.

The Frick Collection: The Historic Interiors

by Xavier F. Salomon

After a multiyear renovation, The Frick Collection returns to its lauded Gilded Age mansion on New York’s Fifth Avenue. Spectacular photography by Miguel Flores-Vianna and insightful text by Xavier F. Salomon, the museum’s chief curator, unite to celebrate one of the preeminent fine and decorative art collections in the world.

Richly illustrated with newly commissioned photography, this publication chronicles the history of the iconic 1914 residence of industrialist Henry Clay Frick, while offering a room-by-room tour that showcases each space’s evolution from a private residence to part of The Frick Collection. The personal and cultural significance of the mansion’s interiors is explored, from the stately drawing rooms and intimate boudoirs to the galleries that house masterpieces by Bellini, Fragonard, Goya, Ingres, Manet, Rembrandt, Titian, and Vermeer.

The mansion at One East Seventieth Street stands as a testament to Frick’s refined taste, immense wealth, and unparalleled art collection. The reader will experience a captivating exploration of the mansion’s creation, from Frick’s initial vision of a “comfortable, well-arranged house, simple, in good taste, and not ostentatious” to the multifaceted collaboration between the strong-willed patron and his team of architects, interior decorators (including Sir Charles Carrick Allom and Elsie de Wolfe), and art dealers. This book is a reintroduction to the marvels of the Frick’s collections and an introduction to the gloriously revived interiors of an internationally lauded jewel of a museum.

Goya's Forge

by Hisham Matar, Xavier F. Salomon

New volume in the Frick Diptych series features an illuminating essay by Frick deputy director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon paired with a text by award-winning author Hisham Matar.

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) is among the most important Spanish artists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A late masterpiece, his Forge derives from the mythological theme of the forge of Vulcan, the metalworker of the Olympian gods. The figures in Goya's monumental, haunting painting are instead muscular laborers at work around a blacksmith's anvil. Salomon's deeply researched text is complemented by a poetic piece by Matar.

Designed to foster critical engagement and interest specialist and non-specialist alike, each book in the Frick Diptych series illuminates a single work in the Frick's rich collection with an essay by a Frick curator paired with a contribution from a contemporary artist or writer.