Marthe Donas

A pioneer of avant-garde art, Belgian artist Marthe Donas is gradually being rediscovered internationally. This is the first monograph in English wholly dedicated to her oeuvre. It encompasses both her surviving work and much of what has been lost and probably destroyed during the Second World War.

Written by Peter J. H. Pauwels with the collaboration of Kristien Boon, the book contains high-quality reproductions of the artist’s drawings and paintings – including Nature Morte M, Portrait de Georgette, Jeux, and Composition abstraite N°5 – as well as a chronological list of her exhibitions. Using accessible language, the authors interweave close biographical details with insightful criticism, allowing us to understand the evolution of her style from cubism to the abstract. Donas was a friend of many important figures in the avant-garde, and exhibited with all the great of the period, from Picasso to Mondrian, Braque to Modigliani. But more importantly, she was an exceptional artist in her own right.