A Living encyclopedia of 20th century art The art historian and curator Germano Celant(1940-2020) has passed away on 29 April 2020, after contracting the coronavirus . He was one of the most fascinating figures in 20th-century art, which he...
The art market during the Second World War: fake bargains and overlooked promising values
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1LdRmFZdnU War War. Economists and politicians alike are readily comparing the impact of the coronavirus to that of a military conflict. The 20th century’s most devastating and traumatising conflict was the...
Vida Americana at the Whitney Museum: The anti-Trump art history exhibition is also on the net
American inferiority complex For a long time the United States suffered from an inferiority complex with regards to its painting. This was because despite America’s status as an economic powerhouse, up until the Second World War it was Paris –...
Art market: Lessons from previous crises, from an unpaid for Van Gogh to the resurgence of young artists…
Crises comes and go Crises in the art market come and go, and no two are quite alike, but they can help us to understand how market values may be called into question. The crisis sweeping the world today and affecting the economy and the art...
Tefaf, Maastricht: a spectacular antiques fair through hell and high water
An air of bleakness The world is at a standstill and it seems as though the love of art is unable to change anything. China aside, the announcement of the temporary closure of museums in Italy, the cancellation of the Art Basel Hong Kong fair and the fair in Dubai at...
Amid uncertainty in the art market from London to Hong Kong, Geneva is holding a small fair within a microclimate of thriving tranquillity
Quiet in January Usually in January the art market community is deemed to be quiet. New York in May This year it impatiently awaits the auctions that have received a lot of media coverage due to take place in May in New York, with works on sale by Rothko, Richter and...
Edward Hopper: Explore the American painter’s landscapes, like Barack Obama
In the Oval Office It was Barack Obama who, during his presidency, chose to hang two paintings in the Oval Office, one above the other. We recognized them as two views of Cape Cod, the coastal area which was a favourite of the Kennedys. More generally, they were two...
Ingres: a treasure trove of 4500 drawings that inspired the best of Picasso. Do you know Montauban?
Pilgrimage in Montauban Picasso didn’t wait for the invention of the high-speed train or the arrival of airliners when he specially embarked on the interminable journey three times to the little town of Montauban, situated 54 kilometres outside of Toulouse in the...
Antique Chinese art: the military confiscations and French occupation in China drive the market in Paris
Sack of Summer Palace The scene takes place on 18 October 1860. Over the course of what was known as the sack of the Summer Palace, English and French troops burn and pillage the Chinese Emperor’s summer residence. The aim of the conflict which began in 1856 consists,...
Dürer at the Albertina: the other exceptional exhibition of an old master in Europe
Leonardo in Paris As the whole world descends on Paris to see the masterpieces at the magnificent Leonardo retrospective, there is another very important exhibition also taking place in Europe: in Vienna. The giant of the German Renaissance It has the advantage of...
Modern and contemporary art SALES IN NEW YORK: the collectors aren’t quite so crazy
Political and economic upheavals As 2019 comes to a close, in a year shaken by various political and economic upheavals, observers may wonder what fate has in store for the modern and contemporary art market. Stratospheric prices Over the past few years, auction...
El Greco: In Paris the genius old master is presented as a modern painter, and it’s very successful
The question of autorship The problem with exhibitions devoted to the old masters is that you never really know what you’re looking at. Works from this era are constantly being contested and the field itself is rife with subtle disputes over the authorship of...