Heidi Ellison
Paris Metrotrash
One Parisian’s Trash… “Paris Metrotrash: Naureen,” by Darren Palmer. Ever since a terrorist placed a bomb in a gas cylinder in a public trash bin, Paris has used transparent plastic bags attached to a simple frame – the better to … Read More
L’Impressionnisme et la Mode
Dressing to Kill for the Impressionists Renoir’s ”Jeune Femme à la Voilette” (1870). © Musée d’Orsay. RMN/Patrice Schmidt The title of the exhibition “Impressionism and Fashion” at the Musée d’Orsay may be off-putting to those who have little or no … Read More
L’Ordre du Chaos
The Method in Soutine’s Expressionist Madness Soutine’s “Le Village” (1923). © ADAGP, Paris 2012 © RMN (Musée de l’Orangerie)/Hervé Lewandowski Some of the paintings by Chaïm Soutine (1893-1943) on show at Paris’s Musée de l’Orangerie look as if they were … Read More
Raphaël: les Dernières Années
Who’s Who in Raphael’s Sphere ”The Madonna of the Rose” (c. 1516), attributed to Raphael. Read a thorough analysis of this painting here. © Museo nacional del Prado, Madrid In his short 20-year career, Raphael (1483-1520) managed to produce a … Read More
L’Art d’Aimer au Moyen Âge: Le Roman de la Rose
For the Love of a Rose:A Medieval Best Seller Surrounded by cavorting rabbits, a young couple embraces in this 14th-century version of the Roman de la Rose. BNF, dept. of Manuscripts The Roman de la Rose is probably not high … Read More
Simon Hantaï & Roy Lichtenstein
Shared Detachment inSeparate but Parallel Careers Lichtenstein’s “M-Maybe” (1965). © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein New York/ADAGP, Paris, 2013 The two major exhibitions currently showing at the Centre Pompidou are worth seeing together for the interesting comparison they provide between the … Read More
A Liminal Square: Portraits from Kiev
Paris Update Art Notes ON THE FRONTLINES IN KIEV From the exhibition “A Liminal Square.” Photo © Tatiana Grigorenko Paris-based American photographer Tatiana Grigorenko, whose family has roots in both Russia and Ukraine, found herself in Ukraine just after the … Read More
Histoires de Voir: Show and Tell
Taking Folk Traditions intoThe Rarefied Realm of Art “Untitled” (1966) by Francisco da Silva © Francisco da Silva. Photo © André Morin The exhibition “Histoires de Voir: Show and Tell” at the Fondation Cartier in Paris once again raises the … Read More
Canaletto-Guardi: Les Deux Maîtres de Venise
Postcards from theSerenissima Canaletto’s “Piazza San Marco, Looking East” (1723). © Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, MadridHave you ever felt that you had seen quite enough pretty paintings of Venice by Canaletto and Guardi and that they were all beginning to look alike? … Read More
Bohèmes
Centuries of Stereotypes Perpetrated by Artists ”L’Homme à la Pipe” (1846), a self-portrait by Gustave Courbet. © RMN/Agence Bulloz The Grand Palais opened another of its entertaining and informative themed exhibitions last week. “Bohemians” starts out with an investigation of … Read More