Gisbert Combaz (1869-1941) fin de siècle artist
Jane Block

Gisbert Combaz is among a handful of turn-of-the century poster artists to create a personal style that is still recognizable today. His ten posters for the exhibition society La Libre Esthetique and his three sets of postcards are as prized now as they were in Combaz’s day. As this illustrated monograph on the artist reveals, however, Combaz was also an accomplished graphic artist, painter, and art critic who made important contributions to Western understanding of the art of the Far East and was an inspiring teacher to several generations of Belgian artists. In this study of Combaz’s life, the author consulted family documents, unpublished photographs, works in private collections, and institutional and governmental archives, to offer a full assessment of the man and his oeuvre. Included are a biographical essay and an analysis of his major works followed by three appendices, with extensive documentation of his twenty-four posters.