https://youtu.be/Z4pfMDkzLy8 24 times more paintings than sculptures 16,000: this is the number of painted works officially produced by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and inventoried in his catalogue raisonné. In 2000 the modern art historian Werner...
Pissarro, Signac: their major roles in the history of modern art are re-examined in Basel and Paris
Changing mind A good exhibition is one that enables you to change your mind about an artist. Pissarro There are all sorts of reasons why this should happen at the show staged by the Kunstmuseum in Basel dedicated to Camille Pissarro...
Edvard Munch in Oslo: the new XXL museum showcasing the extraordinary modern painter
Oslofjord On the banks of the Oslofjord in the all-new cultural district of Bjorvika, located in a former container port set amid the maritime landscape that was so beloved by the famous Norwegian native Edvard Munch (1863-1944), there’s a...
The Albers, an ultra-modern couple united by abstraction. An exhibition in Paris and a testimony from Sheila Hicks
To think as a couple There are artists – and they are in the majority – who think as an individual, and there are others who think as a couple. This is the case, for example, of Christo and Jeanne Claude who created and authored their huge...
Centre Pompidou, Paris: the immense pleasure in the work of Georgia O’Keeffe
https://youtu.be/KwssqQpCJEU The "weaker" sex One good thing about trends is that they can lead us to rediscover certain major artists who have spent too long under the radar. This is true of Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) who, within the...
Contemporary art like a beating heart. Luma Arles by Maja Hoffmann is impressive and exhilarating
A lineage of collectors The Swiss billionaire Maja Hoffmann comes from a lineage of remarkable collectors. Her grandmother, Maja Sacher, was one of the founders of the art museum in Basel (See here the video interview of Maja Hoffmann)...
Inside François Pinault’s Bourse de Commerce: the power of figurative painting and Ando’s architecture
https://youtu.be/Zn9YIvr9p5I A poor rural family What more is there to aspire to when you’re an 84-year-old billionaire who was born into a poor rural family in a Breton village? The answer lies in the district of Les Halles in Paris...
Louvre Abu Dhabi: what does the future hold for the spectacular museum with no Leonardo and the withdrawal of French museums in 6 years’ time?
https://youtu.be/LxH6-D2iYKA Appeared like by magic Contrary to the situation in France or in the United States, the Louvre Abu Dhabi closed its doors for only 100 days while the world was shaken by the pandemic. The museum appeared as if by...
Grenoble, Beijing, New York: Giorgio Morandi is the subject of worldwide fascination
https://youtu.be/RqF3Z5EjvpM Morandi mystery There is a sense of mystery about Morandi. For an artist who seems to have painted the same subject his entire life – carafes, bowls and vases in muted colours – from his tiny bedroom in Bologna,...
Rodin/Arp at the Fondation Beyeler: while awaiting to see one of Europe’s most beautiful exhibitions in person
https://youtu.be/Tl_lO_NHFMM Fondation Beyeler One of the most beautiful current exhibitions in Europe can be found at the Foundation Beyeler in Basel, which is showcasing an imaginary dialogue between Rodin and Arp. It opened in December 2020...
The He Museum designed by Tadao Ando: a new art colossus in China and a big buyer of artworks
Museum depressingly closed During a period that’s been turbulent on all fronts, where numerous museums around the world remain depressingly closed while some, notably in the United States, have been forced to sell pieces from their collections...
Altdorfer at the Louvre :The artists who are the best at marketing are the ones who make history
Biographers and trends No one should believe that art history presents a fair view of artistic creation. Artists’ legacies wax and wane according to the changing tastes of biographers and trends. Such is the case for the German artist Albrecht...