Esprit de france - le blog

In Paris, until March 14, 2010, the Bourdelle Museum presents an ambitious exhibition dedicated to Isadora Duncan (1877-1927), a pioneer figure of dance.

Autodidact born on the coast of California, this bold, modern woman put her art at the heart of a project of a society based on more freedom and democracy. Defying convention, Isadora danced barefoot, wearing a tunic revealing her nudity.

Sculptures, paintings and drawings by Antoine Bourdelle, Auguste Rodin, José Clarà, Rik Wouters, Jules Grandjouan, Andre Dunoyer de Segonzac, Abraham Walkowitz, illustrate the revolutionary art of Isadora. These artists, fascinated by the expressiveness of her dance empathy with nature and music, have sought to capture the force of it.

Isadora Duncan by Antoine Bourdelle

While restoring the artistic and intellectual context of an era, many photographs, books and documents also help to trace the tumultuous life and career of Isadora, her world tours and dance schools.

In the gardens and studios where Antoine Bourdelle (1861-1929) lived and worked, the Bourdelle museum also houses an outstanding collection of plaster, bronze and marble works of art of the artist.

The extension made in 1992 by the architect Christian de Portzamparc gives full dimension to the work of this great sculptor, who was a contemporary of Rodin, and also Giacometti’s master.

Musée Bourdelle
18, rue Antoine Bourdelle
75015 Paris
Tél : 01 49 54 73 73

Through March 14, 2010

In Paris, the Rodin Museum places side by side until the 28th of February 2010, two geniuses in the world of art: Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) and Henri Matisse (1869-1954).

A generation separates these two great creators; the first dominates the art of sculpture, the latter introduced decisive revolutions in the painting.
For the first time, the sculpted work of Matisse and a number of his drawings, are confronted with a selection of Rodin’s works.

Rodin. “La voix intérieure” (“The inside voice”). Circa 1894

For the first time, the sculpted work of Matisse and a number of his drawings, are confronted with a selection of Rodin’s works. The exhibition recalls the role that Matisse gave to sculpture and drawing, while simultaneously insisting on this parallel mode of expression that was drawing to Rodin.

Matisse. “La Serpentine”. 1909

This unprecedented artistic dialogue between Matisse and Rodin contributes to debates addressing in particular the link between sculpture and drawing, or the place of the nude in developing a visual language.

Musée Rodin
79, rue de Varenne
75007 Paris
Tél. 00 33 (0) 1 44 18 61 10

Through February 28th

The museum of Les Arts décoratifs – in the Louvre Palace, in Paris – exhibits Toulouse-Lautrec until the end of 2009.
Any exhibition of Toulouse-Lautrec’s posters is automatically a nostalgic celebration of the legendary Belle Epoque, when Montmartre and the Chat Noir were the artistic and entertainment centre of the world.
If these most famous creations continue to fascinate us today, it is because they have become part of our international collective memory.

At the same time as the posters designed by the artist between 1891 and 1900, are presented the works of one hundred contemporary designers from 24 countries; their works were carried out in 2001, on the occasion of the centenary of Toulouse Lautrec’s death.

Gathered under the title “New Salon des Cent”, these designers attest to the timeliness and the vitality of the contribution of Toulouse-Lautrec.
An exhibition not to be missed…

Through the 3rd of January, 2010

Musée des Arts décoratifs
107 rue de Rivoli
75001 Paris
Tel:0144 55 57 50

A must of this autumn in Paris!
The Galeries nationales du Grand Palais exhibit Pierre-Auguste Renoir, until the 4th of January 2010.
Entitled “Renoir in the 20th century”, the exhibition is designed to shed new light on little-known aspects of Renoir’s work while reaffirming the influence of his art throughout the first half of the 20th century in France.

In 1913, “I am beginning to learn how to paint. It has taken me over fifty years to get to this result, but there’s still a long way to go”, says the painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919).
Some one hundred Renoir paintings, drawings and sculptures are gathered together and are set against works by Picasso, Matisse, Maillol and Bonnard, giving an indication of the artist’s influence and legacy.

Until the 4th of January 2010

Galeries nationales du Grand Palais
Avenue Winston Churchill
75008 Paris

Underground stations: Franklin.D Roosevelt or Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau

The Jacquemart-Andre Museum hosts until the 11th of January 2010, the masterpieces of the prestigious collection Brukenthal, combining works of the great Flemish masters from the 15th century to the 17th century – Van Eyck, Jordaens, Bruegel, Memling or Teniers.

Samuel von Brukenthal (1721-1803) brought together a remarkable range of Flemish paintings from that time, then much sought after in Europe by art collectors.

The Flemish tavern, by David Teniers (1610-1690)

You will particularly admire fascinating portraits by Hans Memling and Jan van Eyck, some breathtaking landscapes of Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Pieter Brueghel the Younger, the symbolic of the still lifes by Jan de Heem Davidsz, the powerful realism of David Teniers, and the poetry of chiaroscuro in the religious painting by Jacob Jordaens.

Baron Samuel von Brukenthal retained all of his collection in his home in Sibiu, Romania. During his lifetime, he converted his palace into a veritable museum, which was one of the first in Romania.

Until the 11th of January 2010

Musée Jacquemart-André
158, bd Haussmann 75008 Paris
Tel. : 01 45 62 11 59