Art Of The Day Weekly
#324 - from 28 November 2013 to 4 December 2013
Joseph Mallord William Turner, The Battle of Trafalgar, oil on canvas, 261.5x368.5 cm. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.
IN THE AIR
Turner, prince of the sea
LONDON (Greenwich) – According to the legend Turner asked to be tied to the mast of his ship. Not to imitate Ulysses and resist the call of the mermaids, but rather to be able to closely observe a storm … This anecdote, whether it is apocryphal or not, only confirms the close relationship Turner (1775-1851) had with the sea. The English painter chose it as his main subject in half of his paintings, ranging from traditional seascapes to pre-Impressionist renderings. It is therefore no surprise both seasoned sea-dogs and armchair aesthetes have been awaiting this retrospective for a long time. It groups together pieces brought in from abroad, such as his Whale ship from the Metropolitan Museum in New York or his The wreck of a transport ship at the foundation Calouste Gulbenkian foundation in Lisbon. This is also an opportunity for visitors to see one of his masterpieces, his version of the battle of Trafalgar. The nearly 4-meter long painting, the only royal commission the painter ever received throughout his career, was greatly criticized for its lack of veracity by those who lived the event …
• Turner and the Sea at the National Maritime Museum, from 22 November 2013 to 21 April 2014.
EXHIBITIONS
The Grand Ducal Workshops, Melchizedek and the candelabrum before the Temple, 17th century, Pietra-dura-mosaic © Florence, Museo dell` Opificio delle Pietre Dure
Ten centuries in Florence
BONN - The Louvre museum has recently put Florence under the spotlights, in a specific era, the beginning of the Renaissance. The Bundeskunsthalle focuses on the same city, but with a wider angle. How did Florence impose itself in the medieval times and how did it continue to live after such an extraordinarily rich period? While the Baroque style left no traces in its architecture, Mannerism marked the painters of a city which –in order to slow down its decline - invented itself a role as “guardian of taste” with the foundation of various academies. Florence experienced a second period of glory during the XIXth century, as the capital, before Rome, of a country freshly united. It then saw an innovating artistic movement develop, that of the Macchiaioli. The commissioners intend to meet the challenge of this unprecedented event by bringing together not only universal masterpieces –of which according to UNESCO Florence has the largest concentration in the world –but objects of decorative art as well. These are well represented by the 'pietra dura mosaics' (mosaics of hard stone) as well as the ruins-like marbles or pietre paesine. The exhibition meets the challenge by loans from 70 different institutions, of which 45 are from Tuscany, In addition, the exhibition Villa Romana tells the story of a German “Villa Médicis”, founded by Max Klinger in 1905 and which continues for more than a century to 'host contemporary artists’.
• Florence! at the Bundeskunsthalle, from 22 November 2013 to 9 March 2014.
These exhibitions also open this week...
2014-02-23
Pirandello, the son
AGRIGENTO - Less known than his father the writer, Fausto Pirandello (1899-1975), was a demanding painter with a rough paste … The Fabbriche Chiaromontane group together some sixty paintings done during the war years (1939-45). (Photo: Al mare, 1945, oil on canvas). From 23 November 2013 to 23 February 2014.
Fragonard beyond the Rhin
KARLSRUHE – At the Kunsthalle, Fragonard, poetry and passion is one of the first major exhibitions dedicated in Germany to the French master. From 30 November 2013 to 23 February 2014.
Cartier, a leader of taste
PARIS – It is one of the most famous jewelers in the world, but also represents a secular patrimony in the field of decorative arts. The saga of Cartier is presented at the Grand Palais. From 4 December 2013 to 16 February 2014.
AUCTIONS
Aristide Maillol, Dina sur la rivière, pastel, charcoal and chalk on wrapping paper, 1938, 83x128 cm. Estimate: € 250,000-350,000. Courtesy Artcurial.
The shapes of Dina
PARIS – Her life reds like a novel. Dina Vierny (1919-2009), born in Bessarabia, uprooted to Paris in the midst of the upheavals of the thirties, became Maillol’s favorite model at the age of fifteen. The artist had even set up a special desk for the young student so she may continue to study during her rest periods … Her solar beauty inspired the respectful sculptor –sixty years older than his muse – who made drawings, oil paintings and sculptures full of sensuality. Through his intervention Dina also became a muse for Matisse, Derain and Bonnard. A resistant who helped Spanish republicans take refuge in France, she became a gallery owner after the war. She had the public discover new artists from the Eastern bloc and crowned seven decades of artistic commitment with the inauguration of the fondation Maillol. Some ten lots are up for sale in the context of her inheritance: aside from Bulatov’s Liberté, there are drawings by Matisse, Dufy, with Maillol as a guest of honor. A proof of his famous Rivière, a bronze nymph, is estimated at €2 million. During the same auction, and with no link whatsoever with the Maillol fund, we will witness the destiny of the famous Pont de l'Europe by Caillebotte, estimated at €3 million.
• De la collection Dina Vierny on 2 December 2013 at Artcurial.
ARTIST OF THE WEEK
© Aaron Igler / Greenhouse Media. Courtesy Gaîté lyrique, Paris.
Stefan Sagmeister, the design of happiness
Two years ago we discovered at the Arts décoratifs museum in Paris the universe of this unclassifiable creator, born in Vienna in 1962 but active in New York for the last twenty years. We can say unclassifiable since he is a designer and yet an advertiser as well, a typographer, musician, artisan, drawer … and a fervent fan of systematically going opposite ways. He refused for example to do a poster for the Obama campaign in 2007 – a commission many other creators would have died for- because it coincided with the sabbatical year he chose to grant himself every seven years. Stefan Sagmeister is known for his record covers (Lou Reed), for his book on BMW wheels, for the evolutionary logos of Levi's in New York or of la Casa da Musica in Porto. He is back in Paris for a special experience: to define, measure and, if possible, increase the happiness of the visitors to his new exhibition. The latter combines genres, music and sports, statistics and dance, and is presented as is due in a trans-disciplinary venue.
• Stefan Sagmeister, The Happy Show at the Gaîté lyrique, from 28 November 2013 to 9 March 2014.
OPENINGS OF THE WEEK
BOOKS
Top 200
In face of the quasi-excess of contemporary art, one is tempted, as in grade school, to refer to school books, manuals, or vademecums. What relation does Pierre Huygue foster with “relational” aesthetics? What is the difference between Roni Horn and Rebecca Horn? Where does Gustav Melgzer, the author of the Symposium sur la destruction draw his destructive energy? Where do Julie Mehretu and Wangechi Mutu, one of Ethiopian origin, the other Kenyan, place themselves in the new African movement? Ce volume se propose de recenser de façon simplifiée deux cents créateurs actuels (une acception prise au sens large puisque l’on y croise aussi bien Jonas Mekas, né en 1922, que Jonathan Meese, né en 1970, ou des artistes décédés comme Eva Hesse ou Louise Bourgeois). On passera sur la terminologie irritante («artiste de renom», «artiste important», «artiste pionnier», «figure majeure») pour retenir des résumés plutôt efficaces et qui présentent l’intérêt de commenter deux ou trois œuvres précises plutôt que de discourir dans le vide.
• Le grand livre de l’art contemporain. 200 artistes expliqués, par Charlotte Bonham Carter, Eyrolles, 2013, 256 p., 29,90 €.
IN BRIEF
FORT WORTH - The Kimbell Art Museum has inaugurated a new wing, designed by Renzo Piano, on 27 November 2013.
GAND -The contemporary art fair Lineart is being held from 30 November to 3 December 2013.
PARIS - The contemporary art fair,Mac Paris, will be held from du 28 November to 1st December 2013.
PARIS - The Salon des Artistes français/Art en Capital, a traditional artists' fair, is being held at Grand Palais from 4 to 8 December 2013.
STRASBOURG - The Musée vaudou will open on 28 November 2013.