In the pantheon of poets, the most prized names are those collectively known as the maudits – the cursed ones. Literature, like art, has been partial to its martyrs, the ones who died too soon, or who were marginalised by society and who appear to have died at the...
There is a unique sensation one feels at sight of a rare few old master drawings, to be found more often than not in museums. It is a beguiling emotion born from the impression you have of a life pulsating behind those drawn faces. They’re by Leonardo da Vinci, or...
The world’s most prestigious museums, the likes of the Louvre and the Metropolitan, fill entire rooms with uncommonly intricate works of art from the Medieval and the Renaissance period. For a long time the great European and American families, banking dynasties such...
Everyone in Miami, from the taxi drivers to the sales associates in the fashion stores, know all about it. During the week they call ABMB for Art Basel Miami Beach, this modern and contemporary art fair imported from Switzerland, the entire city undergoes a...
Paris-Photo, the biggest fair dedicated to photography is held in the French capital for two decades now, and this year back again under the Grand Palais’ glass roof. The true benefit of this mega commercial show is that it attracts the very best specialists in the...
Every year in November and May, the contemporary art auctions in New York are awaited as the final verdict on the overall health of the art market. Their impact is colossal, trickling down across all price ranges, as well as across other areas of the market. This year...
He was a one-time actor, a failed painter and a man of modest means who at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th created an immense body of work that systematically chronicled an old Paris that was in the process of disappearing. From inner courtyards...
Gagosian, Sotheby’s, Christie’s. Think of the art market at its most glamorous, its most breathtaking, with its record-breaking prices, and the names most often evoked are the two leading auction houses and a multinational gallery owned by the American, Larry...
The international calendar of fairs is extremely full, to the extent that any new venture seems unneeded. It must be stated, however, that the brand-new Tefaf New York that took place from 22 to 26 October, is absolutely remarkable. Located uptown at Park Avenue...
‘Everything I’ve done in the cinema lately has been for the sake of painting. Cinema was magnificent in the '70s. There are fewer masterpieces these days.’ In 2008 the celebrated film maker and producer Claude Berri (1934-2009) whose credits include producing Roman...
With or without Brexit, London is a major focal point for the international art market. The decision of the British people in June to leave the European community has not had the impact on the art community we might have predicted. In fact, in same the week as the two...
Twice a year, the city of Berlin organises events in the domain of contemporary art. In spring it’s the successful Gallery Weekend when local galleries open their doors, a format recently replicated by Paris. Then, in autumn it is the turn of Berlin Art Week – from...