Recognized as one of the greatest and most idiosyncratic artists of the postwar era, Cy Twombly left behind an oeuvre of incredible versatility, sensitivity and originality upon his death in 2011 at age 83. Working in the immediate aftermath of Abstract Expressionism, Twombly developed an intensely personal scription consisting of scrawled letters and words, in an effusive, calligraphic mark-making that suggests a kind of painted poetry. Working across painting, drawing, sculpture and photography with a restless energy, Twombly incorporated the gods of Ancient Greece, the poetry of Stephane Mallarme and the history, culture and mythology of the Occident into his art. "The Essential Cy Twombly," edited by Twombly's longtime collaborator Nicola Del Roscio, is the ultimate overview of his work, presenting the most important paintings and cycles of paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs from Twombly's diverse oeuvre. The most accessible survey of his work to date, this volume includes essays by Laszlo Glozer, Thierry Greub, Kirk Varnedoe and Simon Schama.
Edwin Parker (Cy) Twombly (1928-2011) was born in Lexington, Virginia. He lived and worked in New York in the early 1950s (where he met Robert Rauschenberg, with whom he was to have a long personal and artistic relationship) and studied at the legendary Black Mountain College in North Carolina before traveling around North Africa, Spain and Italy and ultimately settling in Rome before the end of the decade, just as the art world was shifting its center of gravity to New York. Best known for his paintings and drawings, often executed on a massive scale across multiple canvases, Twombly also made sculptures and photographs.

Cy Twombly's eminent oeuvre underwent several transformations over the decades. Probably the most incisive of these was his encounter with Mediterranean culture, which led to Twombly's retreat from the New York art scene: from 1957 on, he lived in Rome and shuttled between Italy and the US. The world of Greek gods, bright Mediterranean light, and the history, literature, and mythology of the Occident found their way into his art. On ever larger canvases, the drama of mankind was transformed into a sensual and poetic vision of color, drawing, and scription. Editor Heiner Bastian has now added a final volume to our Catalogue Raisonne of the Paintings, covering the years from 2008 until Twombly's death in Rome in 2011. It includes, inter alia, the series of monumental flower paintings that occupied the artist during the last years of his life.