What is a collection? “The collection is a work of art that is offered up for viewing. At first, we advance as though in a forest, not knowing where we are, with no points of reference. But we meet people along the way with whom we enter into...
All the sublime lights of Matisse are in Basel at Fondation Beyeler
https://youtu.be/G3Dq9D7vIK0 Restless spirit When Henri Matisse (1869-1954), the son of a grain merchant, presented himself at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1892, the man who would go on to become one of the greatest painters of the 20th...
Jean Fautrier: Bargain prices at a Paris auction for one of the modern geniuses of French painting
Profession of silent things The genius of artists lies in their ability to give form to the unspeakable. In this regard, the famous 17th-century French artist Nicolas Poussin found the right expression when he said, "I, who make a profession of...
Caillebotte, “the man who loved men” in Paris before Chicago and Los Angeles
https://youtu.be/nrAm83D8B-E Hot topics Museums and art historians, despite their classical appearance, nowadays tend to focus on “hot topics”, in other words, art that expresses current concerns in an effort to address past injustices . Often...
Paris: the colossal impact of Art Basel at the Grand Palais
Grand-Palais effect There is an “Art Basel effect” within the art market, or in other words, how an entire city can be transformed over a few days by a massive influx of art professionals but also art fans, who come expecting the best in...
Tarsila do Amaral: the Brazilian modernist genius is back in Paris
https://youtu.be/6OJ13CLW4i4?si=dJ1psKl41Ee9yw79 A Brazilian woman Regardless of the strength of her talent, this painter exhibited at least two handicaps for her time: she was a woman - the weaker sex in art - and Brazilian, therefore far...
A single Caravaggio makes it worth the trip: the Borghese collection is in Paris
https://youtu.be/5XOitu1I8ag?si=x5wNqG6lvNwM3Yov It’s an image of a young man. He’s depicted in three quarter view, having taken off his shirt to reveal his robust shoulders. As though offering up another gift to the viewer, in his arms he...
The big surrealist show at Centre Pompidou: There are still many things to discover from this revolutionary period
https://youtu.be/M1T_8TYbwiQ?si=FrBVR11kUolwpR_I Hotly anticipated The exhibition dedicated to surrealism, which celebrates 100 years of the movement at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, is possibly the most hotly anticipated museum event of the...
Louise Bourgeois: Roman Holiday
https://youtu.be/vtlKXdKSrWQ?si=5SD2JbAj9vAeokVx Treasure of Roman art As soon as you arrive there’s a powerful visual impact. We are at the Palazzo Borghese, a treasure of Roman art, a villa created by the Cardinal Scipion Borghese...
Impressionism: a 21st-century movement
https://youtu.be/0e-f27oq0Ww?si=El27_JdL--oZYNS3 Chocolate boxes and greeting cards In our collective unconscious, impressionism is often linked to childhood memories, flashbacks featuring bad reproductions of images on chocolate boxes,...
Pasolini: an erudite martyr in the land of the painters
https://youtu.be/qXe9fvV5qXI?si=q1eiSFYnNaPYyJmJ Angels and demons Diving into the filmic world of Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975) leads to the discovery of angels and demons, saints and martyrs, and plenty of thieves who are often in cahoots...
Modern and contemporary art sales, what next?
The paradox of the art market Nowadays the paradox of the major sales of modern and contemporary art in New York lies in the fact that almost all of them take place before the auctioneer has lowered the hammer. The strength and weakness of...