Curator An Van Camp explains Rembrandt’s use of a printmaking technique known as etching, and what his early experiments tell us about the young artist’s working process.
The Young Rembrandt exhibition is open at the Ashmolean until 1 Nov 2020: https://www.ashmolean.org/youngrembrandt
In the summer of 1969, Cy Twombly made a series of paintings inspired by the Apollo 11 space mission.
Born in Lexington, Virginia, in 1928, Edwin Parker ‘Cy’ Twombly studied art in Boston and at the avant-garde Black Mountain College in North Carolina. After graduating, he served as a cryptologist in the US Military — an experience that left a distinctive mark on his artistic style.
Learn more: https://www.christies.com/features/Mo…
He went on to become a highly respected portraitist, counting Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Benito Mussolini and opera star Lina Cavalieri among his subjects. In Coy’s view, however, his portraits were relatively conventional offerings — and Corcos’s ‘best work’ was his turn-of-the-century imagery of ‘dangerously independent women’.
Compare the biographies of Vittorio Corcos (1859-1933) and Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920), and a remarkable number of similarities become apparent. Both were born into Jewish families in the Italian port city of Livorno in the second half of the 19th century; both would settle — and artistically come of age — in Paris. Both would even excel at the same type of paintings: their provocative depictions of women.
Their reputations, however, have suffered widely different fates. Modigliani, who struggled to sell much work before his death at the age of 35, is today regarded as a master of Modernism. Corcos, by contrast, who enjoyed a long and prosperous international career, posthumously became a rather forgotten figure.
The 14th-century Château de Pechrigal – where composer, poet and author Léo Ferré lived from1963 until 1968 – stands three kilometres outside the village of Gourdon.
Pech-Rigal means royal hill in old local French dialect, befitting its hilltop position.
The 67-hectare plot includes meadows, tennis courts, a pool and half a hectare of Merlot vineyards, giving 4,000 bottles of wine a year.
The chateau, a grand affair of 17 bedrooms, 14 bathrooms, guard house, pigeonnier, wine cellar, restored farmhouse and two outhouses, was bought and renovated by a Frenchman in 1998.
He transformed the crumbling property into a luxurious second home, occasionally used for private events and weddings.
It had fallen into disrepair after rebel composer Ferré left it unlived-in for 25 years.
In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon maps the century-long journey of Jean Honoré Fragonard’s Progress of Love series from Paris to Provence to London to New York. Fragonard’s career faltered because of his association with the ancien régime, and the Progress of Love was in many respects his last great accomplishment before he died in penury in 1806. In 2021, visitors will be able to experience three of the canvases for the first time in decades when the series is displayed in its entirety at Frick Madison. For today’s episode, Xavier has paired this fourteen-canvas parable of love with a mixed drink suitable for the occasion, a brandy-spiked Champagne Cocktail.
To view these objects in detail, please visit our website: https://www.frick.org/progressloveSHOW LESS
The quest to discover the unchartered globe began in earnest In the 1500s. In this episode of Sotheby’s Stories, discover how European explorers took to the seas founding new lands and new species, revealing the true shape of the world. Curated by global explorer Jean-Paul Morin, this unique collection of century-old treasures takes us back to when the world and its inhabitants were being revealed for the first time. Offered in Sotheby’s upcoming auction Jamais Perdu en Mer (Paris | 14 October 2020).
Welcome to the most storied palace in the world, the glittering Château de Versailles. Recounting the most important historical, social, and cultural milestones of Versailles, beginning with the original proposal for a modest hunting lodge requested by Louis XIII in 1623, this volume encompasses the expansive property, from the palace and gardens to the Grand Trianon and the Queen’s Hamlet.
From the first great constructions under Louis XIV, to its reimagining by Louis-Philippe in 1837 as a museum dedicated to all the glories of France, Versailles has truly seen many momentous occasions, including diplomatic summits, scientific advancements, and renowned visitors over the centuries, from Mozart, Benjamin Franklin and Queen Victoria to Fred Astaire and the Kennedys, not to mention exhibitions of today’s great artists, beginning with Jeff Koons in 2008.
Lavishly illustrated with archival images and beautiful photography, Versailles: From Louis XIV to Jeff Koons features insightful texts by Catherine Pégard, president of the Château de Versailles, with the collaboration of Mathieu da Vinha, scientific director of the Château de Versailles Research Center, revealing all the stories that have unfolded within this glorious monument.
Complimentary white gloves are included with each purchase from Assouline’s Ultimate Collection. A limited edition vibrant blue tote bag is included with Versailles: From Louis XIV to Jeff Koons.
Egyptologists explore why the ancient Egyptians only built these massive structures for a few centuries in their vast 3,000 year history.
In this week’s episode of “Cocktails with a Curator,” join Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon as he discusses Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s Progress of Love paintings and the capricious countess who commissioned the series, Madame du Barry, mistress of Louis XV. Delve into the tumultuous life of Du Barry, who was born in poverty and clashed with Marie-Antoinette at Versailles. Tune in next week to discover how the Progress of Love series made its way from eighteenth-century France to the Frick’s beloved Fragonard Room.
To view these objects in detail, please visit our website: https://www.frick.org/progress_love
The eventful history of Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, which have changed hands many times since they were painted for Paul Gauguin’s arrival in Arles.
Van Gogh’s paintings of Sunflowers are among his most famous. He did them in Arles, in the south of France, in 1888 and 1889. Vincent painted a total of five large canvases with sunflowers in a vase, with three shades of yellow ‘and nothing else’.
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