On minute in front of a masterpiece How long does one spend in front of a masterpiece? For mere mortals who can’t claim to possess any, one minute maximum and often even less will be dedicated to experiencing this outstanding vision in a museum. Apart from in...
Endless speculation There’s been endless speculation in the media surrounding the nature and whereabouts of the Salvator Mundi, a heavily restored painting depicting Christ blessing the world, not because it is (or isn’t) by Leonardo but primarily...
Paul Cézanne The story begins in the pine forests of Aix. Imagine the cicadas, the hot sun beating down, and Paul Cézanne coming to this spot every day to paint, in an old quarry where stones were cut in the 18th century and used to construct the majestic...
Selling less The art market is one of those rare places where selling less can also involve selling for higher prices. What I mean by this is that following a long period when younger artists were overwhelmingly considered to be the market’s raw materials,...
Grand tour Between 2016 and 2018 a fabulous collection of jewellery and precious objects went for a round-the-world tour with six stops from New York to London, Paris (the lavish exhibition at the Grand Palais was the subject of a report) to...
Art super star It was only after her death that the American artist Louise Bourgeois (1910-2010) became a contemporary art superstar, thanks to a proliferation of exhibitions around the world and a large-scale promotion campaign on the part of, among others, the...
A pyramid of artists The history of the Italian Renaissance resembles a virtuosic acrobatics show, in which each great master climbs onto the shoulders of his predecessor in a tower reaching up to the sky. This pyramid of artists is revealed almost in its entirety in...
Spiritual beauty It’s like a visual punch in the face. A beauty that is both powerful and spiritual. The Oceania exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly, which has come from the Royal Academy in London, is quite possibly one of the most beautiful currently on...
Classical exhibitions The Venice Biennale has become such an important moment in the global art calendar that countless events now congregate around it. They tend to be of a more classical nature than those at the national pavilions and the...
Paul Gauguin “How do you see this tree? Is it really green? Use green then, the most beautiful green on your palette. And that shadow, rather blue? Don’t be afraid to paint it as blue as possible”. During the summer of 1888 in Brittany at Pont Aven, Paul...
Death Who wants to part with their masterpieces? No one. That’s why the biggest art market records, generally obtained for absolutely outstanding works, are the fruit of forced and unhappy circumstances: death and divorce. This is primarily the way in which the...
Uncertainty for ever In the field of Old Masters art uncertainty reigns. The most distinguished specialists spend their time contradicting each other and new discoveries from the history of art flourish in publications. For in the distant past, more...