We were lucky to visit London and Paris this fall, and we saw some exceptional exhibitions. Our favourite was the show on Georges Braque at the Grand Palais in Paris. He started as a fauvist around the turn of the last century, then he started cubism with this beautiful painting.
He then experimented with collage, and the show displayed a letter from Picasso saying that he was trying some of Braque's collage techniques. Braque was a real leader in so many areas of 20th century art.
We also saw a Roy Lichtenstein show at the Pompidou Centre, and we were delighted with his inventiveness and versatility. In the 60s/70s I didn't realize how talented he was, dismissing him as solely a comic style artist.
In London we attended the Frieze Modern and the Frieze Masters, huge art shows in Regent's Park. At the Masters we were intrigued by this Breughal ('The Census at Bethlehem") that had just sold for £6 million. It was the first time it had been seen publicly as the owners had the original receipt from Breughel (400 years old)! We were puzzled as we (my husband and I) thought we recognized the painting from our art history courses, but the gallery owner explained that the painting we knew was by Breughal the elder, and his son had painted about 14 variations, of which this was one. You can see Mary in the foreground on the mule, but what has always intrigued and delighted me is that it looks more like Belgium than Bethlehem.
We also visited the Courtauld Gallery in London to see some Impressionist favourites. Manet's large painting "Bar at the Folies Bergères" is riveting. See him on the right in the mirror? And the trapeze artist on the top left? There's so much to look at in this painting.
Lastly, the National Portrait Gallery. Fabulous portraits by many artists, but my favourite this time was Jonathan Yeo, a self-taught British artist in his forties. He is able to persuade prominent subjects to sit for him, and here are two of them.
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| Kevin Spacey as Richard III |
Rob Lowe
