Eleanor Nairne

Simply splendid. 512 pages, and not one bad work of art to be found. Obviously, that’s on the conto of Basquiat, and not Taschen. Nevertheless, this publication is truly spectacular, and for 20 euros one of the best art books you will ever buy value/money-wise. El Pais called this the “most complete monograph on Basquiat that exists.”

Jean-Michel Basquiat only painted for 8 years, and left us with over 600 major canvases – he truly is the 20th century Van Gogh.

There’s a solid introduction to Basquiat by the editor, a good essay by Eleanor Nairne, and a few pages that introduce each of the book’s eight chronological sections. They really shine a light on both the artist as well as his work.

The text doesn’t dominate the visual experience. This is an eye book first and foremost – fantastic reproductions, great printing quality. One minor blemish: the book doesn’t indicate the whereabouts of the paintings. On all other accounts: exceptional.

If you have money to spare – consider buying the much larger XXL edition of this, for 150 euros. It was first published in 2018. I have both the XXL editions of Rembrandt, and I can attest to the production values of that series. Basquiat’s paintings, often with intricate detail, is undoubtly done more justice in even bigger reproductions.

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