Art in Paris: Musée Marmottan Monet

Tags

Albert Marquet, art, Berthe Morisot, Claude Monet, Eugène, Eugène Fromentin, Ingres, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Kandinsky, Monet, Musée Marmottan Monet, Oriental

The Musée Marmottan Monet is a bit of a hodge-podge. Marmottan, father and son, collected medieval and Renaissance art, post-Revolutionary art and furniture, and lots of other stuff. The son willed the property to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, under which many donations were accepted, most significantly quite a few works of Claude Monet, donated by his son, Michel. The problem as I see it is that the best work by Monet had already been scooped up by other museums, notably the Musée d’Orsay, leaving lesser or more personal works for this museum; the main reason to visit it is if you’re interested in an exhibition. Eugène and I wanted to see their current exhibition, “Oriental Visions, From Dreams Into Light,” so we headed over on Saturday afternoon. It was worth a look, and I also enjoyed a few items from the permanent collection. First and foremost were two paintings by Ingres.

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  Ingres, La Petite Baigneuse, 1828

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  Ingres, Tête de la Grande Odalisque, c. 1814-16

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There were lots of other bathing beauties, which felt derivative and repetitive, but Eugène pointed out the amusing caption on the “fantasy scene” shown below: “No woman, not even a prostitute, would show herself this way in the street, smiling seductively, with her breasts on display.”

Jean-Léon Gérôme, Jeune Orientale au narguilé, Undated.

I did quite like these two paintings, both of which show mastery in their portrayal of sun and shade:

Eugène Fromentin, La Rue Bab-el-Gharbi à Laghouat, c. 1859.

Albert Marquet, Le balcon au store rayé, Alger, c. 1945.

Many of the paintings depicted Morocco or Algeria, which aren’t to my way of thinking “oriental,” but Eugène explained that the term is being used to refer to anything exotically foreign.

It said something, however, that my favorite painting in the exhibition was the one below, which bears no resemblance — except in its title –to anything else in the exhibition.

Kandinsky, Oriental, 1909.

The only Monet in the permanent collection that attracted my attention on this visit is this one, which I also added to my Impressionism Far and Near photo set.

Claude Monet, En Promenade Près d’Argenteuil, 1875.

The museum does have a nice room of paintings by Berthe Morisot, who is also the subject of a show that opens this Tuesday at the Musée d’Orsay. This portrait particularly caught my eye:

Berthe Morisot, Portrait de Louise Riesener, 1881.

On the way back to the métro Eugène and I had a refreshing drink at La Gare and a couple of tasty ice creams at a roadside stand.

Art in Paris: Ôtsu-e

Tags

art, Ôtsu-e, manga, matcha tea, mochi, onigiri, Tôkaidô road, Ukiyo-e

The Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris had an exhibition that was ending soon, so I went to see it on Thursday. It proved to be a lot of fun!

Ôtsu turns out to be a town near Kyoto on the famous Tôkaidô road from Edo (now Tokyo). From the early 17th century through the mid-19th century the town specialized in selling small humorous images to travelers. Over the centuries Ôtsu developed a suite of standardized characters, who became known throughout Japan, and have found there way into Ukiyo-e prints and other fine art as well as the popular imagination.

The most typical character is a demon dressed as a monk, invoking the Buddah Amida.

Second half of the 18th century

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  While he may seem fearsome, he can also be fearful!

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  And while he might not be everyone’s type, sometimes he gets lucky!

Also common are the god of longevity and the god of luck.

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  Here the god of longevity is gettting his beard combed by the god of luck. Yes!

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  Here however, their relationship seems to have hid a rough patch!

Finally, here are a couple of images of the whole rogues gallery.

I see links between these characters and contemporary manga, as well as with some of the outsider art I saw earlier in the week.

After the gallery, I had a delicious light lunch at the Japanese café in the museum.

Salmon rice onigiri, matcha tea and a sesame mochi. Miam !

Art in Paris: Musée du quai Branly

Tags

African art, Ammassalimiut, art, Félix Fénéon, Kiiappaat, Mexican bat mask, musée du quai Branly, Nuka Uttuaq

More rain was forecast for Tuesday, so I headed over to the Musée du quai Branly, which is now called the even more tounge-twisty Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac; anything but what it actually is: the (gasp!) Museum of Primitive Art. Specializing, in the words of this book cover from one of the exhibitions, in:

I’ve visited several times, but my response on this occasion was slightly different. Having spent the previous afternoon at a museum of “outsider” art I was struck by the fact that nearly all of the works in Musée du quai Branly are equally “outside” the mainstream of Western art, despite their embrace by Picasso and other giants of the 20th Century Modern Art movement. The first exhibition concerned the collector, critic and publisher Félix Fénéon (described as a, “[d]andy caché sous des allures de faux-Yankee…“), included a poignant little book in which Fénéon asked a variety of art experts whether African art would ever be admitted into the Louvre. The role he played as an advocate for African art, and the collection he amassed, were interesting, but overall this exhibition wasn’t terribly impressive. One example will illustrate his good taste, but it isn’t that different from what you find in the museum’s permanent collection:

Mask from Tanzania (wood, fiber, teeth)

The other exhibition concerned Oceania. It was well curated and wide-ranging, but again left me somewhat blasé, in part because I had spent a lot of time there and had already seen similar works to those on display. Again, here’s a nice pair of statues to give you a glimpse:

Feminine and masculine figures, About 1900, Kranket Island, Port de Madang, Bay of the Astrolabe, Papua-New Guinea.

I actually spent most of my time in the permanent collection, which I’ve visited several times. Due to the enormous size of the collection, and the extremely confusing layout, I notice new pieces every time I visit. Here are a few that I particularly liked this year, and I’ve added a Musée du quai Branly Photo Set to capture what I liked best from all my visits.

Mexican bat mask.

Kiiappaat mask of Nuka Uttuaq, population Ammassalimiut, East coast of Greenland, 1934

Mask, Population Lega, Democratic Republic of the Congo, end of the 19th century (detail)

To be honest, I think my enjoyment of the quai Branly is rather similar to my reaction to the outsider art museum the previous day: The pieces have the potential to surprise me, to weird me out, and to amuse.

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  Headdress, Population Ejagham, Nigeria, Cross River region, 19th Century

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  By Charles Smith, about 1990

They can also be beautiful and well made. But they rarely or never bring me to the same sort of aesthetic bliss as I not infrequently get from impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces. My personal response isn’t an argument against putting them in the Louvre, since I’m no more likely to enjoy the average item there. And as we know, there’s no disputing about taste.

Art in Paris: Outsiders

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art, art brut, Charles Smith, Eugène, Fulvio Di Piazza, Gerard Mas, Gregory Warmack, Halle Saint-Pierre, Hey #4, Lee Godie, Masayoshi Hanawa, Montmartre, Mr. Imagination, Nils Bertho, outsider art, Rise and Rise Again Until Lambs Become Lions, The Kid

Rain was forecast for Monday so I looked for an indoor activity. Most museums were closed, either because they always close on Monday or because it was a jour férié (the Day After Pentecost). I decided to see two exhibitions of outsider art (art brut) at Halle Saint-Pierre, in part to avoid taking yet another exhibition off the shared-interest list with Eugène.

The scene when I emerged from the métro at Anvers was hideous: mobs of Sacré-Coeur tourists (and people who prey on tourists) crushing in from all sides. I had never been to Halle Saint-Pierre but it seemed to be in a dreadful location, just a block off the main tourist track. But it proved instead to be a haven of French hipsterdom.

The museum had two exhibitions, both on through August 2. The first was a retrospective of outsider art from Chicago over the past seventy-five years and the second was called “Hey #4, Modern Art and Pop Culture”. I approached the Chicago exhibition with skepticism, and came away with the somewhat condescending perspective that this is the art that America deserves in the Age of Trump.

A collection of works by various outsider artists from the former Maxwell Street Market. Perfect for the Age of Trump!

By Charles Smith, about 1990

Trumpesque Throne, by Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack)

By Lee Godie

The second exhibition, however, caught me by surprise. Hey #4 offered a wide variety of works, characterized by vividness, audacity and creativity. While popular, to be sure, much of this work was in no obvious way inferior to the art in a contemporary gallery or museum. Here are some glimpses:

Center: By The Kid, Rise and Rise Again Until Lambs Become Lions, 2016

Gerard Mas, Antroporci, 2008

Masayoshi Hanawa, 2015/18

Nils Bertho, Yoaki Arena, 2018

Fulvio Di Piazza, Homecoming, 2017

Heidi Taillefer, Brewing the Yangtze, 2015

This is only a taste! If you like some or all of these and would like to see a broader selection, please check out my Hey #4 Photo Set.

Art in Paris: The Bührle Collection at the Musée Maillol

Tags

6ème arrondissement, Alfred Sisley, art, Édouard Manet, Camille Corot, Claude Monet, Emil Bührle, Eugène, impressionist, Ladurée, macarons, Mariage Frères, Maurice de Vlaminck, Musée Maillol, neighborhoods, Paul Cézanne, Pierre Bonnard, Place de Furstenberg, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Thé des Impressionists, van Gogh, Vincent van Gogh

On Friday I met Eugène at the Musée Maillol to see an really excellent exhibition (on through July 21) of impressionist (also pre- and post-) paintings collected during the 1950s by a Swiss multimillionaire, Emil Bührle.

In all my visits to Paris I had never been to the Maillol! Partly this was due to the fact that the permanent collection is mostly composed of busty babes, which I don’t mind but don’t particularly seek out. And I suspect it was partly due to my prejudice against the 6ème, which I’m coming to see is just as unfair as being prejudiced against all of Montmartre simply because it has a trampled-to-death tourist track. Yes, the vicinity of métro Saint-Germain-des Prés is painful. But just a few blocks away there are gorgeous and peaceful spots like Place de Furstenberg.

Place de Furstenberg in the 6ème

I have seen a lot of impressionist art this year, but I was nevertheless quite taken by the Bührle collection. He assembled a few excellent works from all the major figures of the age; in fact it somewhat resembled the survey collections that old and rich colleges (such as Williams and Brown) put together for their students, except that Bührle apparently had almost unlimited resources. A dozen of the works turned out to have been looted in World War II, but he was able to buy most of them a second time from the legitimate owners, then get reimbursed by the gallery from which he purchased them.

Here are just a few of my favorite pieces (retouched to remove some nagging reflections):

Camille Corot, La Liseuse, 1845/50

Édouard Manet, Le Suicidé, About 1877

Alfred Sisley, Été à Bougival, 1876

Claude Monet, Champ de coquelicots près de Vétheuil, About 1879

Paul Cézanne, Le Garçon au gilet rouge, 1888/90

Pierre Bonnard, Ambroise Vollard, 1904

Maurice de Vlaminck, Nature morte aux oranges, 1907/08

Eugène at Ladurée with my birthday macarons.

After the exhibition, Eugène took me out to Ladurée for tea to celebrate my mumble-th birthday, then over to Mariage Frères for a renewed supply of vanilla-flavored Thé des Impressionists.

Addendum: Eugène professed to see a resemblance between me and this 1887 (Suicide-3) selfie by Van Gogh. #WhoDidItBetter?

Bob with Autoportrait, Vincent Van Gogh, 1887

Art in Paris: The Courtauld Collection at Fondation Louis Vuitton

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Alex Katz, art, Cezanne, contemporary art, Courtauld Collection, Courtauld Gallery, Fondation Louis Vuitton, impressionism, impressionist art, Kusama, Manet, Renoir, Yayoi Kusama

Through June 17 the finest impressionist works from the Courtauld Gallery in London are on view at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. My feelings about Manet have been somewhat mixed; he seems sometimes to be courting scandal as well as seeking beauty. But I confess to being seduced by the signature painting of this exposition, despite the unnaturally skewed “reflection” in the upper right corner.

Édouard Manet, Un bar aux Folies-Bergère, 1882

I added this, as well as several other paintings from the Courtauld exhibit, to Impressionism Far and Near, a photo set pairing favorite works with a close-up to show the beauty of the brush strokes.

Édouard Manet, Un bar aux Folies-Bergère, 1882 (detail)

The exhibition was really satisfying. Here are two more paintings I particularly liked.

Alfred Sisley, Bateaux sur la Seine, about 1875-9

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, La Yole, 1875

It was a shock to continue on to an exhibition of modern and conceptual works from the permanent collection of the Fondation Louis Vuitton.

Alex Katz, Red House 3, 2013

Of course I know how art has evolved since the age of impressionism, but I’ve rarely felt what we have lost so keenly. I did enjoy — who wouldn’t? — stepping for the first time into one of Yayoi Kusama’s mirror rooms.

Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirror Room, 1965 / 2013.

I like amusement park fun houses as much as the next person, and I don’t mind the fact that contemporary art installations provide an increasingly similar experience. (If I go to the Venice Biennale this year, which still might happen, I expect more of the same.) But the range of emotion and esthetic experience offered by impressionist art feels broader and deeper. Call me an old fuddy duddy — you would not be the first! — but at the end of the day I prefer impressionism.

On Friday afternoon, as I gorged myself on the flowers of Parc de Bagatelle and the art of the Courtauld collection I began to notice a nagging little sore throat. I knew exactly what this portended: at the very least I would start getting the sniffles, then would be sneezing and coughing for a few more days. This indeed occurred, and while it has slowed me down a bit I’ve still had some excellent adventures. To be continued…

Recovery and Photography

Tags

art, C.N., contemporary art, contemporary photography, Erwin Olaf, Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, Galerie Rabouan Moussion, Guy Tillim, Marais, photography, Sherard, walking

On Wednesday, after walking 77 miles over the previous week, I was tired! I wrote a few blog posts, did some reading, and basically just put my feet up! I love walking, and it’s one of my favorite things to do in Paris. Over the decade I’ve been coming here I’ve consistently averaged about 7 miles a day (though only 6 in 2018). I knew from last year that I would be below average during my stay in the 15ème with my cousins, but I counted on Sherard’s insatiable appetite for walking to compensate. What I didn’t count on was that I would be walking almost as much with C.N. on the four days before Sherard arrived. So it turned out to be eleven solid days of intensive walking (including a 15-mile half-marathon day).

On Thursday, after more rest, I ventured out to the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in the 3ème. There were some charming photos by Cartier-Bresson himself but the main event was a small exhibition of enormously enlarged street photos of African cities by a South African photographer, Guy Tillim. I was impressed, but by and large was happier perusing the images in a Paris gallery rather than actually being in one of those cities.

Guy Tillim, Museum of the Revolution exhibition at La Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson

On my way home a gallery I hadn’t visited before this year — Galerie Rabouan Moussion — caught my eye. When I went in I was basically blown away by an exhibition of large-format photographs by Erwin Olaf that combined sumptuous surface beauty with witty, barbed and/or affecting points. Here are shots of a few that I particularly liked.

These two images, hung at very different levels, are related…

In the first, a mature black man sits at a (modest) power desk while a white boy waits in a row of chairs.

In the second image the white boy, somehow, is sitting in the power chair and the black man is nowhere to be seen.

The next two images suggest relationships between two women.

A mother and child? Maybe not, since the book open on the table is Lolita!

Another mother and child? Perhaps the child has done something wrong? But in the context of the previous photograph other interpretations also suggest themselves.

This photograph was my favorite, because of the moving affection it shows as well as the scantily-clad model.

The Farewell, 2018, Erwin Olaf at Galerie Rabouan Moussion, Paris

The Farewell, 2018 (detail), Erwin Olaf at Galerie Rabouan Moussion, Paris

The Farewell, 2018 (detail), Erwin Olaf at Galerie Rabouan Moussion, Paris

I naturally interpret this as a farewell between gay lovers who are about to be separated by the military service of one of them. But actually they could just be good friends, or even adopted brothers. Perhaps the ambiguity of the photograph makes the point that their powerful and obvious affection is the real and important thing. The exact nature of their relationship is relatively unimportant.

Dinners at Champeaux

Tags

art, Belleville, Canal de l'Ourcq, Champeaux, Conservatoire de Paris, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, La Grande Canopée, meals, Récitals de fin de l'année, Sherard, Zhizhong

On Monday we went up to Belleville one last time to pick up the small Clem Letrusko painting that Sherard had purchased on Friday, and to visit a few galleries that were on our must-see list. We had planned to make this a relatively restful day, but as it happened we kept seeing additional pieces that we wanted to buy, which required us to walk down the hill to an ATM then back up to the artist or gallery to buy the piece. We ended up walking 11 miles on our “rest day”!

For dinner I proposed a nearby restaurant, Champeaux, beneath the Grande Canopée. It looked quite stylish, and wasn’t terribly expensive. Besides, I had an ulterior motive: I had been reserving restaurants through the website of The Fork/La Fourchette for years. I had gotten some nice discounts but I had never accumulated enough points to use them before they expired. I noticed that I had enough “Yums” for a $10 discount, and Champeaux was one of relatively few restaurants that accepted them! We both enjoyed our meals and we particularly loved the wine they recommended: Triennes IGP Méditerranée Viognier Sainte Fleur Blanc 2018, which Sherard subsequently discovered can be found in the U.S.!

Sherard and me on Monday at Champeaux

My salmon on Monday at Champeaux

I proposed a range of options for Tuesday, Sherard’s last day. He selected thesis performances by students graduating from the Conservatoire de Musique et de Danse, Récitals de fin de l’année.  I enthusiastically agreed, since I really enjoy these accomplished non-touristy (and free) concerts. In retrospect, however, I probably should have recommended something closer to home, or in a less familiar direction, since this was in the far north-east corner of Paris, close where we had already spent most of the week, so the walk was both long and partially repetitive.

We watched a couple of good performances but then needed to go get some food. Eventually we found a modest place on the Canal de l’Ourcq for a traditional lunch. After eating we walked home along the canals, and over to the Galerie Vivienne to find some vintage postcards Sherard had noticed earlier in his stay. With that mission accomplished we headed home, after a 12 mile day.

My friend Zhizhong joined us for dinner. I had reserved at an Italian place in the neighborhood, but when I mentioned our meal the previous evening at Champeaux Zhizhong’s eyes lit up, so we decided to cancel my reservation and go right back there for dinner.

Sherard, Zhizhong and me on Tuesday at Champeaux

My cod on Tuesday at Champeaux

Sherard and Zhizhong with soufflée desserts on Tuesday at Champeaux

My strawberry rhubarb dessert on Tuesday at Champeaux

Champeaux gets a quite good overall rating of 8.8 on The Fork, and we really enjoyed both meals, but I have to admit that it has some flaws: Service was somewhat uneven, and the greeting our first night was downright strange, with the maitre’d being busy talking with a couple of policemen and a waiter being unable at first to find our reservation. The portions aren’t large and the prices aren’t cheap, but we had enough to eat both nights, and the bill wasn’t punishing: 40 euros per person including wine and desserts. You would pay more at a similarly nice restaurant in Boston. The location in a shopping center is admittedly a bit odd, but the room itself is light and airy and stylishly decorated. All in all I think the critics are being churlish; Champeaux is good value for money.

Zhizhong and I stayed up past midnight solving life’s problems, but Sherard had an early flight so he went to bed after dinner. In the morning he headed out to the airport without waking me, but left a nice farewell note on a vintage postcard.

Art in Paris: Sophie Herszkowicz

Tags

art, Atelier du Passage, Belleville Open Studios, Belleville Portes Ouvertes, Sophie Herszkowicz

This is the last of three posts about the artists in the Belleville Open Studios this year from whom Sherard or I (or both) actually purchased something.

I had greatly admired Sophie Herszkowicz‘s gallery last year (2018), and had contemplated returning to buy the small oil pictured below. I was delighted this year to find that it was still available, and snapped it up for 200 euros.

Here are some photos of her gallery from last year (2018):

And here are a few more gallery pics from this year:

She teaches art in her large studio, under the name Atelier du Passage. I’m a fan!

Art in Paris: Franck Gaulier

Tags

art, Belleville Open Studios, Belleville Portes Ouvertes, Franck Gaulier

This is one of three posts concerning the Belleville artists from whom either Sherard or I, — in this case both — actually purchased something this year.

As I mentioned in my overview of the Belleville Open Studios, a small work by each artist is offered in the AAB gallery for 45 euros, if you are the first to speak for it. We got there early on the first afternoon to give us more choice. Sherard bought a small oil painting by Clem Letrusko shown in my earlier post, but a little oil painting by Franck Gaulier came in a close second. After seeing the full display of Gaulier’s work Sherard decided he wanted the small Gaulier painting after all, and fortunately it was still available. I also liked Gaulier’s work and decided to buy another small painting directly from him. Here’s the one I bought:

Here are some other works in his display:

Many of his paintings have a slightly surreal aspect, like the following piece(s). I respect this facet of his work but it isn’t my personal style.