Asamasterofrealism,JeromeWitkinillustratesinhisartthemoralplightofeverydaylives.Hismostcomplexandcriticallyacclaimedworks--intense,oftendisturbingscenesoftheHolocaust--haveearnedhimagrowinginternationalaudience.ThissecondeditionofLifeLessonsincorporatesmaterialfromthepastdecade,includingtenofhismostimportantandprovocativepaintings.Itbringstheviewerinintimatecontactwiththedenseinteriorlandscapesofbothpeopleandplaces.OftenregardedasbelongingtoanartisticpantheonincludingtheworkofLucienFreud,Manet,Ingres,Goya,andCourbet,Witkin’spaintingsrangefrommoodyurbanlandscapesandpenetratingportraitstointimatefigurestudiesandvivid,psychologicallychargedtableaux,frequentlyreferencingseminalmomentsinhistory.Witkin’snewerworkincludes-anenormoussix-panelexplorationofDachau’s1945liberation(EnteringDarkness,2001)--hisculminationofatwenty-yearseriesontheHolocaust,regardedbycriticsasamongthemostcompellingofpaintingsmadeonthesubject.
