The splendor of the paintings in this book--their poise and serenity, their radiant color, their sheer "realness"--is a testament to a life devoted to capturing the beauty of things. Carl Schmitt's passion for beauty led him to a penetrating understanding of the world he saw about him and especially of man's place and activity within it. His insights, enlightened by a faith that saw all creation as transcendent, enabled him to articulate the profound vision of reality that illuminates his art, a vision with far-reaching implications for our understanding of the individual, family, society, and the culture of man, his history and final destiny. This book is an attempt to capture, through images and the written word, something of the rich legacy of an artist who lived for "beauty first". (Book Jacket).