https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGMgYcPkLvs Much has been said about the influence of the Japanese on modern art, from Degas to Van Gogh, to the extent that this phenomenon even has a name: Japanism. Much less has been said about the influence of modern...
Paul Cézanne father of all “Everything in nature is modelled on the sphere, the cone and the cylinder. One has to learn to paint from these simple shapes”. It’s 1904 and the artist writing these words, the Aix-born Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), has been doing a lot...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTJYVDMXfow The French language is facetious. In order to provide an emphatic and worthy name for amateur artists, for those who practise a hobby, it has found a unique description that’s even entered international usage:...
Mr and Mrs… There are certain artists like that, especially when it comes to women, who are always presented as a couple. Take Sonia Delaunay, who is systematically associated with Robert, her guru. Take Sophie Taeuber-Arp, the other half of sculptor Jean Arp… We’re...
The prices of art at auction are constantly being pushed up. Although the large auction houses remain anxious to publish the satisfying results so as to globally keep up morale in the field, they also have a desire to conquer certain parts of the market, nowhere more...
The next modern and contemporary art sales of the season will take place the week of the 12 November in New York. The programme features a large amount of expensive art, the most expensive of the last six months, being passed from one hand to another with creations...
Artists have an advantage over mere mortals in that the fruit of their torments can give rise to great works of art. They are able to express their contradictions and allow them to play out on canvas, creating a sort of tension that appeals to the viewer’s emotions....
There are two trends currently shaping the art market. The first is the presence of an art with some kind of political dimension, be it environmental awareness, feminism, or a problematic American presidency... The second is that galleries are having trouble selling...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXETztMZjZI Pablo Picasso lived to the age of 92. His total painting output is estimated to number over 4000 works. It’s conceivable that he could have produced 120 paintings between the ages of 20 and 25. At that time the...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DftPH89bSyg In his youth, before earning his living as a painter, he taught drawing but he also worked as a psychic medium. This is a way of situating the figure of Frantisek Kupka, born in 1871 into a modest family from...
She told me: “If I were you I would think twice before you decide to go to Tehran. The Grand Bazaar is on strike. The last time that happened the Shah was overthrown”. She’s an American-Iranian friend who receives daily news from Tehran via her family who live in the...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K43H-AvZXtc It’s a huge shock. It’s a major exhibition driven by a universal message. It’s a piece of the history of modern art. In Paris there’s a place that is little known for its exhibitions, the Shoah Memorial located...