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...
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...
90 countries The Venice Biennale is the most highly anticipated contemporary art show in the world. It can provide a platform for not only the most in-demand artists but also – and this is very much part of its charm – for complete unknowns, as can be seen in...
Porquerolles Last year saw the opening of a contemporary art foundation on the island of Porquerolles, a nature reserve off the coast of Hyères, the brainchild of Parisian financier Edouard Carmignac whom we met last year (cf report) Sea of desire...
People refuse to see me “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. (…) When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves or figments of their imagination, indeed, everything and anything except me.” Invisible man In 1953...
Theaster Gates in public To understand Theaster Gates (born in 1973) you must first have the opportunity to see him in public. He’s charged with electricity, volcanic. A star in Chicago A compact form propelling itself through space. The Chicago-based artist,...
the race towards gigantism In a world where the offerings of various contemporary art festivals are flourishing across the globe, there’s one way to stand out from the crowd, and that is in the race towards gigantism. To fill the spaces This quest would suggest...
Part of the cinema history Whatever our areas of interest, we can agree that Wim Wenders (born in 1945) is now a part of the cinema history. There are flashes of Wenders inscribed in our collective memory, like the red mohair dress matching Nastassja...