FLOATING CITIES STEPHEN WILTSHIRE

Land

Nederland

Conditie

Gebruikt

Provincie

Limburg

Omschrijving: FLOATING CITIES STEPHEN WILTSHIRE
Venice, Amsterdam, Leningrad and Moscow
Foreword by Oliver Sacks

Gebonden boek met harde blauwe linnen kaft met zilveren letteropdruk met witte stofomslag met illustratie met rood/blauwe letteropdruk in perfecte conditie;
148 pagina's met meer dan 125 kleuren- en zwart/wit tekeningen;


Stephen Wiltshire, who was described by Sir Hugh Casson as 'possibly the best child artist in Britain' is autistic. His genius was brought to the public's attention when he featured in a BBC QED documentary on autistic children in 1987. His amazing ability is to capture perspective and mood, particularly in buildings, with extraordinary accuracy.



He very often completes the picture away from the site having first made a few pencil 'memory sketches'.



Floating Cities represents sixteen-year-old Stephen's artistic response to a 'Grand Tour' of Europe. The architectural refinement of a bygone Venetian Republic is juxtaposed to the solid merchant spirit of the Northern Reinaissance as seen in Amsterdam. The barbaric vitality and energy of Moscow is set against that epitome of elegance, Leningrad - so often called 'the Venice of the North'.



These drawings testify to an assured draughtsmanship and an ability to convey complex perspective with consummate ease. But more importantly, they reveal his mysterious creative ability to capture the sensibility of a building and that which determines its character and its voice. It is this genius which sets him apart and confers upon him the staus of artist.

For a child who was once locked within the prisonhouse of his own private world, unable to speak, incapable of responding to others, this thrilling development of language, laughter and art is a miracle.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements
Foreword by Oliver Sacks
Introduction by Margaret Hewson



VENICE
View from San Giorgio Maggiore
Panorama of the Lagoon
The Rialto
The Rialto (2)
The Doges' Palace
St Mark's
St Mark's (2)
Ca d'Oro
The Bridge of Sighs
The Danieli
San Moise
Palazzo Grassi
View from the Accademia Bridge
Imaginary Venice
Santa Maria del Miracoli
San Giorgio Maggiore
San Giorgio Maggiore (2)
Santa Maria della Salute
San Trovaso - The Squero
San Trovaso - The Squero (2)
San Giorgio Maggiore and Gondolas

AMSTERDAM
With Stephen in Amsterdam
Central Station
At Fred Kolman's Studio
The Gnomes' House, Cientuurbaan
The Barge
Westerkerk
St Nicolaas
The Amstel River
View from the Amstel Hotel
Herengracht
View down Bloemgracht
A Corner of Bloemgracht
Koninklijk Paleis
The Begijnhof

MOSCOW
Portrait of Dr Oliver Sacks
Spaasky Tower
Aerial View of the Kremlin
The Kremlin Palace
'This is not the History Museum'
Novodevichiy Convent
Gum
The History Museum
Tea at the British Embassy
St Basil's Cathedral
St Basil's Cathedral (2)
The British Embassy (2)
The Don Monastery: The New Cathedral
The Church of St John Chrysostom
The Chapel of the Tereshchenkos
Gastronome
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Our Last Evening

LENINGRAD
St Isaac s Cathedral
Palace Square
Smolny Convent
Kirov Kombinat
Bridge over the River Neva
Katalnaya Gorka
The Belosel'sky-Belozersky Palace
Chesma Church
Stroganov Palace
The Panorama of Leningrad
The Church of the Resurrection
The Alexander Nevsky Monastery
The Tikhvin Cemetery
The Matisse Dancers


Stephen Wiltshire was born in London to West Indian parents on 24th April, 1974. His mother, Geneva Wiltshire had come from St Lucia and his father, Colvin, from Barbados. Colvin was killed in a motorcycle accident when Stephen was three years of age. His sister, Annette, is two years older than her brother. He lives with his mother in West London.

As a child, Stephen was mute and did not relate to other human beings. Aged three, he was diagnosed as autistic. He had no language, uncontrolled tantrums and lived entirely in his own world.

At the age of five, Stephen was sent to Queensmill School in London, a school for children with special needs, where it was noticed that the only pastime he enjoyed was drawing. It soon became apparent he communicated with the world through the language of drawing; first animals, then London buses, and finally buildings. These drawings show a masterful perspective, a whimsical line and reveal a natural innate artistry.

Aged eight, Stephen started drawing cityscapes after the effects of an earthquake (all imaginary) as a result of being shown photographs of earthquakes in a book at school. He also became obsessed with cars and illustrations of cars at this time (his knowledge of them is encyclopaedic) and he drew most of the major London landmarks.

In 1987, the BBC QED programme, 'The Foolish Wise Ones', featured Stephen's astounding talent. The programme was devoted to three autistic savants: musical, mathematical and artistic. Stephen was introduced by Sir Hugh Casson (past president of the Royal Academy), who described him as "the best child artist in Britain". Stephen's work has since been the subject of numerous television programmes around the world, and the writer and psychologist, Oliver Sacks, has devoted an essay to Stephen in his book An Anthropologist On Mars (Picador 1995). Stephen is the only artistic autistic savant in the world whose work has been recorded and published since his childhood. His third book - Floating Cities (Michael Joseph, 1991) - was number one on the Sunday Times bestseller list.