Friday, April 26, 2019

Utrecht, Caravaggio and Europe

Alte Pinakothek, Munich
17 April to 21 July 2019
What a shock it must have been for Hendrick ter Brugghen, Gerard van Honthorst, and Dirck van Baburen, three young painters from Utrecht, when they encountered the breathtaking and unorthodox paintings of Caravaggio for the first time in Rome. Described as 'miraculous things' his works were marked by an innovative realism, striking drama, and mysterious lighting and were to influence the style of many artists from Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands. 

The exhibition, developed in collaboration with the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, shows over 70 of the most beautiful and important works of the leading ‘Caravaggisti’, including paintings by Bartolomeo Manfredi, Jusepe de Ribera, and Valentin de Boulogne and Caravaggio himself.

Artists

In 1600, Rome was the cultural centre of the world. The growing metropolis attracted artists and architects from all over Europe. Among them were the painters from Utrecht, Hendrick ter Brugghen, Gerard van Honthorst, and Dirck van Baburen. They studied the art of antiquity in the city as well as masterpieces of the Renaissance.

However, their main interest was in the revolutionary innovations in the painting of their times, including, in particular, those of Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio. Caravaggio was regarded as an impassioned hothead who brought about radical change in painting with new pictorial themes, realism of a kind that had never been known before, and strong contrasts between light and dark.

The many artists that flocked to Rome from all points of the compass came from a variety of cultural backgrounds. They had trained under different masters, in disparate styles and had their own personal goals and expectations of their time abroad. A total of 17 artists who sought fortune and success in Rome, and went about doing so in quite different ways, are represented at the exhibition.


In the exhibition:



Michelangelo Merisi, called Caravaggio (1571 - 1610), Medusa, called Medusa Murtola, 1597. Canvas on panel, diameter 44.68 cm. Private collection.

Michelangelo Merisi, gen. Caravaggio, The Fortune Teller, c. 1595/96, © Musei Capitolini, Pinacoteca, Rome



Valentin de Boulogne, David with the Head of Goliath and Two Soldiers, 1620/22, © Museo Nacionial Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid



Orazio Gentileschi, David and Goliath, c. 1605/07, © National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
David and Goliath



Valentin de Boulogne, Judith with the Head of Holofernes, c. 1625/28, © Musée des Augustins, Toulouse



Hendrick ter Brugghen, St Sebastian Tended by Irene, 1625, © Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, R. T. Miller, Jr. Fund, Oberlin, Ohio

Michelangelo-merisi-da-caravaggio-1571-1610-S 1 1753.jpg

Michelangelo Merisi, gen. Caravaggio, St Jerome Meditating, 1605/06, © Museu de Montserrat, Montserrat

File:Gerard van Honthorst - The Liberation of St Peter - WGA11647.jpg

Gerard van Honthorst, The Liberation of St Peter, c. 1616/18, © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

The Mocking of Christ

Hendrick ter Brugghen, The Mocking of Christ, c. 1625, © Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes, Rennes, on loan from the Musée de l’Assistance Publique, Paris



Giovanni Antonio Galli, gen. Lo Spadarino, Christ Displaying his Wounds, c. 1625/35, © Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Perth and Kinross Council Scotland

File:Gerard van Honthorst - The procuress - Google Art Project.jpg

Gerard van Honthorst, The Procuress, 1625 © Centraal Museum, Utrecht





Catalogue


A comprehensive catalogue in German and English editions will be published to accompany the exhibition. The contributions shed light on the world of Utrecht Caravaggists and show how individually the young painters deal with the model of Caravaggio and thereby develop their very own style.

Hirmer Verlag, 34,90 euros, 304 pages with 330 colour illustrations, edited by Bernd Ebert and Liesbeth M. Helmus

Also see:

Beyond Caravaggio


The Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale at Christie's May 13



The Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale  opens 20th Century Week at Christie’s New York. The highlights of the New York auction on 13 May, include standout out pieces by Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, René Magritte and other leading names of the 20th Century. The much anticipated sale presents works from the greatest moments of Impressionism to Modern art, with leading artists of the period.



Pablo Picasso’s Baigneuses et crabe, 1938 (estimate: $1.2 – 1.8 million),
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Arbres dans le jardin de l’asile, October, 1889. Oil on canvas. 16 ¼ x 13 ¼ in. Estimate on request. Offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. Newhouse Masterpieces from the Collection of S.I. Newhouse

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Arbres dans le jardin de l’asile, October, 1889. Oil on canvas. 16 ¼ x 13 ¼ in. Estimate on request. Offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. Newhouse: Masterpieces from the Collection of S.I. Newhouse
Paul Cézanne (1839-1906). Baigneuses devant une montagne (recto); étude de maison (verso), 1902-1906. pencil and watercolor on paper (recto); pencil on paper (verso). 5 x 8 ½ in. Estimate $2,000,000-3,000,000. Offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. Property from an Important European Collection

Paul Cézanne (1839-1906). Baigneuses devant une montagne (recto); étude de maison (verso), 1902-1906. pencil and watercolor on paper (recto); pencil on paper (verso). 5 x 8 ½ in. Estimate: $2,000,000-3,000,000. Offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. Property from an Important European Collection
Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), Bouilloire et fruits, 1888-1890. Oil on canvas. 18 ⅜ x 23 in. Estimate on request. Offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. Newhouse Masterpieces from the Collection of S.I. Newhouse

Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), Bouilloire et fruits, 1888-1890. Oil on canvas. 18 ⅜ x 23 in. Estimate on request. Offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. Newhouse: Masterpieces from the Collection of S.I. Newhouse
Claude Monet (1840-1926), Nature morte au melon d’Espagne, 1879. Oil on canvas. 35 ½ x 26 ¾ in. Estimate $2,000,000-4,000,000. Offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s New York. Property from the Collection of Frederick A. and Sharon L. Klingenstein

Claude Monet (1840-1926), Nature morte au melon d’Espagne, 1879. Oil on canvas. 35 ½ x 26 ¾ in. Estimate: $2,000,000-4,000,000. Offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s New York. Property from the Collection of Frederick A. and Sharon L. Klingenstein
Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Nu à la fenêtre, 1929. Oil on canvas. 25 ¾ x 21 ½ in. Estimate $7,000,000-10,000,000. Offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz

Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Nu à la fenêtre, 1929. Oil on canvas. 25 ¾ x 21 ½ in. Estimate: $7,000,000-10,000,000. Offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz
Camille Pissarro (1830-1903). Le Jardin dOctave Mirbeau, la terrasse, Les Damps, 1892. Oil on canvas.  28 ¾ x 36 ¼ in. Estimate $3,000,000-5,000,000. Offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Robert B. and Beatrice C. Mayer Family Collection

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903). Le Jardin d’Octave Mirbeau, la terrasse, Les Damps, 1892. Oil on canvas. 28 ¾ x 36 ¼ in. Estimate: $3,000,000-5,000,000. Offered in the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Robert B. and Beatrice C. Mayer Family Collection
René Magritte (1898-1967),  Le Thérapeute , 1967. Bronze with dark brown and green patina. Height 58 ⅝ in. (149 cm.) Width 50 in. (127 cm.) Estimate$1,000,000-2,000,000. This work is offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz

René Magritte (1898-1967), Le Thérapeute , 1967. Bronze with dark brown and green patina. Height: 58 ⅝ in. (149 cm.) Width: 50 in. (127 cm.) Estimate:$1,000,000-2,000,000. This work is offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz
Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947), La Terrasse ou  Une terrasse à Grasse, 1912. Oil on canvas. 49 ¼ x 52 ⅞ in. (125.3 x 134.4 cm.). Estimate $5,000,000-8,000,000. This work is offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz

Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947), La Terrasse ou Une terrasse à Grasse, 1912. Oil on canvas. 49 ¼ x 52 ⅞ in. (125.3 x 134.4 cm.). Estimate: $5,000,000-8,000,000. This work is offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz
Marc Chagall (1887-1985), LAcrobate ou Le Trapèze, 1937-1938. Gouache and pastel and ink on paper laid down on card laid down on canvas. 25 ¾ x 18 ¾ in. (65.5 x 47.7 cm.) Estimate $700,000-1,000,000. This work is offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz

Marc Chagall (1887-1985), L’Acrobate ou Le Trapèze, 1937-1938. Gouache and pastel and ink on paper laid down on card laid down on canvas. 25 ¾ x 18 ¾ in. (65.5 x 47.7 cm.) Estimate: $700,000-1,000,000. This work is offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Course de taureaux, 1900. Gouache and pastel on board. 18 ½ x 27 ½ in. (47.1 x 70 cm.). Estimate $3,500,000-5,500,000. This work is offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz

Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Course de taureaux, 1900. Gouache and pastel on board. 18 ½ x 27 ½ in. (47.1 x 70 cm.). Estimate: $3,500,000-5,500,000. This work is offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz
Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) Lunia Czechowska (à la robe noire), 1919. Oil on canvas. 36 ⅜ x 23 ⅝ in (92.4 x 60 cm). Estimate $12,000,000-18,000,000. This work is offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz

Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) Lunia Czechowska (à la robe noire), 1919. Oil on canvas. 36 ⅜ x 23 ⅝ in (92.4 x 60 cm). Estimate: $12,000,000-18,000,000. This work is offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz
Claude Monet (1840–1926), Le Palais Dario, 1908. Oil on canvas. 22 ⅛ x 26 ⅛ in. (56.2 x 66.5 cm.) Estimate $4,000,000–6,000,000. This work is offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz

Claude Monet (1840–1926), Le Palais Dario, 1908. Oil on canvas. 22 ⅛ x 26 ⅛ in. (56.2 x 66.5 cm.) Estimate: $4,000,000–6,000,000. This work is offered in the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on 13 May at Christie’s in New York. The Collection of Drue Heinz

Thursday, April 25, 2019

The Emil Bührle collection

20 march - 21 july 2019

Musée Maillol
In the spring of 2019, the Musée Maillol will exhibit masterpieces from the Emil Bührle Collection, one of the most prestigious private collections in the world. Exhibited for the first time in France, this ensemble, which was assembled between 1936 and 1956 in Zurich, provides a panorama of French art from the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century.

The Musée Maillol will present the exceptional collection of the manufacturer Emil Georg Bührle (1890–1956), who was born in Germany but settled in Switzerland in 1924 and collected—mainly between 1951 and 1956—more than 600 artworks.

Featuring around fifty works from the Emil Bührle Collection, the exhibition includes several modern art movements: works by the major Impressionists (Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Degas, Renoir, and Sisley) and post-Impressionist artists (Cézanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Toulouse-Lautrec), works from the beginning of the twentieth century by the Nabis (Bonnard and Vuillard), the Fauves (Braque, Derain, and Vlaminck), and the École de Paris (Modigliani), and, lastly, the art of Picasso.

In anticipation of its permanent home in the new extension of the Kunsthaus in Zurich, the Emil Bührle Collection is currently on a national and international tour.

After the Fondation de l’Hermitage in Lausanne in 2017 and three major museums in Japan in 2018, the Musée Maillol will have the privilege of displaying masterpieces such as

Dancer sculpture by Degas at the Met.jpg
La petite danseuse de quatorze ans by Degas (Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, circa 1880),

 

Monet’s Les coquelicots près de Vétheuil (Poppies Near Vétheuil, circa 1879),

 


Paul Cézanne, Le Garçon au gilet rouge, 1888-1890. Huile sur toile, 79,5 x 64 cm. Collection Emil Bührle, Zurich © SIK-ISEA, Zurich (J.-P. Kuhn).


Cézanne’s Le garçon au gilet rouge (Boy in a Red Waistcoat, circa 1888),



and Le semeur au soleil couchant by Van Gogh (Sower at Sunset, 1888).


This comparative approach will highlight the links and filiations between the artistic movements that existed during various eras, while illustrating each painter’s personal contribution to the history of art. Emil Bührle, for whom past works had an influence on those of the present, remarked that ‘Ultimately, Daumier led to Rembrandt, and Manet to Frans Hals’.

Van Gogh and the Sunflowers


Van Gogh Museum,  Amsterdam,
 21 June - 1 September,  2019 

 


Sunflowers (1889), one of Vincent van Gogh’s best-known paintings, will be the centrepiece of the summer exhibition Van Gogh and the Sunflowers. The presentation will highlight the flower’s significance to the painter and what he hoped to achieve with his Sunflowers. Van Gogh himself thought that this work was among the best things he had done.

A great deal of study has been devoted to the masterpiece from the Van Gogh Museum’s collection in recent years. The exhibition will show what the latest technical research has contributed to our knowledge of Van Gogh’s working methods, the discolouration of certain pigments and the painting’s conservation history and current condition. The public will also have a first opportunity to see the back of the masterpiece, including the wooden strip that Van Gogh himself added to create more space for the sunflowers. 

 
From first flower still life to world-famous Sunflowers
 
Van Gogh and the Sunflowers presents the fascinating genesis of the painting and the sunflower’s significance to Van Gogh. The flower still lifes he painted during his time in Paris reflected the French floral still life tradition. It was in that city that he first chose the sunflower as a subject, in both landscapes and still lifes. Having moved to the southern French town of Arles, he then painted his celebrated large vases with sunflowers, which came to be associated with his friendship with Paul Gauguin. The painting now in the Van Gogh Museum’s collection was originally intended for Gauguin, who lived with Van Gogh in the Yellow House in Arles for two months and made a portrait of him as a painter of sunflowers.
 

Van Gogh considered the Sunflowers paintings to be among his best works. He realized that he had achieved something extraordinary: ‘to be sufficiently heated up to melt those golds and those flower tones, not just anybody can do that, it takes an individual’s whole and entire energy and attention.’ It was not only Gauguin who was impressed by the works, Vincent’s brother Theo and other artists and critics also found the Sunflowers series magnificent. It did not take long after Van Gogh’s early death for them to assume the status of masterpieces.

Back of the painting with added wooden strip to be on view for the first time


Sunflowers, study (F377), Oil on canvas, 21 x 27 cm, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Van Gogh and the Sunflowers will include twenty-three works, virtually all from the Van Gogh Museum’s own collection: in addition to Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, there are masterpieces like  

 Vincent van Gogh - The yellow house ('The street').jpg


The Yellow House (1888)



 and Paul Gauguin’s Vincent van Gogh Painting Sunflowers (1888), as well as a number of drawings by Van Gogh that are rarely shown because of their fragility and sensitivity to light. 

 

Besides, there is a loan by Isaac Israëls on view, Woman in Profile before Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ (1916-1920) from Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle.

Exceptionally, the back of the world-famous Sunflowers is being shown for the first time so that visitors can see the wooden strip with the original nails that Van Gogh himself added at the top of the canvas. He probably realized while painting that the uppermost sunflowers were too close to the edge of the picture plane, so he attached the narrow wooden strip at the top to give the bouquet more space.

Study of working methods and condition
Van Gogh and the Sunflowers presents for the first time the results of the extensive technical research performed on this masterpiece. An international team of specialists headed by former senior conservator Ella Hendriks examined Sunflowers using the latest scientific techniques, in order to gather as much information as possible about the canvas, the ground and paint layers and the previous restorations carried out on the work. The aim was to discover which materials Van Gogh used, what condition the painting is in, whether restoration was needed and possible and what can be done to preserve the work – 130 years after it was painted – as effectively as possible for the future.

Travel ban and discolouration

One important conclusion is that the ground and paint layers are stable, but extremely sensitive to vibrations caused by movement and to changes in humidity and temperature. It is therefore important that the painting is moved about as little as possible and that it should hang in a stable climate. For this reason, the museum recently decided not to allow Sunflowers to travel in future.

The research also provided detailed knowledge of the colours and blends of colours that Van Gogh used and the natural ageing process of the paint. The original colour nuances have been partially lost due to the effects of discolouration. We now know that the changes in colour in Sunflowers have been caused by the fading of a particular type of red paint (geranium lake) and the darkening of a particular type of yellow paint (chrome yellow). We also know more about the various restorations carried out on the work, and the consequences of these restorations.

Conservation treatment: varnish and retouches
Sunflowers underwent minor conservation treatment at the beginning of the year based on the findings of the research. The latter revealed that the painting has several layers of varnish, all of which were applied later and hence not by Van Gogh himself. They are dirty and yellowed but cannot be removed as the paint and varnish layers have merged in certain places. A layer of wax was later added on top of the varnish at some places to secure the paint and make the surface more matt. The wax, which was applied in the late 1990s and had taken on a matt, whitish effect over time, was removed during the recent conservation treatment. The retouches added during an earlier restoration were also examined. These could not be removed as they were located beneath the varnish layer and so new retouches were made on top of the old ones. 

Catalogues

Van Gogh’s Sunflowers Illuminated: Art Meets Science is  a scholarly publication in which an international team of art historians, curators and conservation scientists will unveil the results of several years of research using the latest techniques into the sunflowers paintings in the Van Gogh Museum and the National Gallery in London. The book is published by Amsterdam University Press, price € 55.00.

The exhibition catalogue presents the research results to a wider public, and also situates the Van Gogh Museum’s Sunflowers in the context of the artist’s oeuvre and his series of sunflower still lifes. Van Gogh and the Sunflowers: A Masterpiece Examined has been written by Nienke Bakker and Ella Hendriks and appears in Dutch and English versions, price approx. € 17.50.

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

In a New Light: Alice Schille and the American Watercolor Movement

Columbus Museum of Art 
 June 14-Sept. 29, 2019


More than 50 works, many of which have not been exhibited for decades, comprise In a New Light: Alice Schille and the American Watercolor Movement, on view June 14 to Sept. 29, 2019, at the Columbus Museum of Art (CMA). The exhibition honors the Columbus native’s 150th birthday and her contribution to the American watercolor movement, offering new critical insights on this remarkable artist. In addition, the illuminating exhibition explores Schille’s travels, teaching and her steadfast advocacy for women’s suffrage. In a New Light is organized by CMA with Guest Curators James Keny and Tara Keny with the assistance of CMA Roy Lichtenstein Curatorial Fellow Daniel Marcus. 



   “We’re thrilled to have this exhibition at Columbus Museum of Art,” said Nannette Maciejunes, CMA executive director. “Schille’s work is visually arresting, was recognized in its time and had profound influence on other artists. She’s an important figure in art history and we’re proud to be reintroducing her to the American public.”



   One of the most celebrated American watercolorists of the 20th century, Schille was largely forgotten after WWII until recent scholarship revealed her overlooked creative brilliance. She earned acclaim from critics and fellow artists across the United States and Europe at a time when becoming an acknowledged professional artist was a particularly challenging path for women. Her subjects were often beach and harbor scenes, landscapes and city marketplaces, painted in pure-wash watercolor with modern compositions and Fauve color she had observed firsthand in Paris. She was praised for her ability to infuse bold compositions with movement and light.

           

   “Ambition and remarkable skill were required for any artist to succeed on a national scale, but particularly for an unmarried woman from a small city in the Midwest,” said Tara Keny, guest curator of the exhibition and the Modern Women’s Fund curatorial assistant in the Department of Drawings and Prints at The Museum of Modern Art. “Alice Schille’s remarkable aptitude for watercolor, her intellect and her passion for the arts contributed to her lifelong success. She was really a wonderfully curious, talented and tenacious artist.”



   Born in Columbus in 1869, Schille completed her studies at the Columbus Art School (now Columbus College of Art & Design), the Art Students League in New York City and the Académie Colarossi in Paris. She exhibited her work across the U.S. while sailing in the summer to France, Egypt, Morocco, Holland, Italy, Dalmatia and England, alone or with fellow artists including Olive Rush and Martha Walter. She forged connections with notable figures of the time including Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas and British painter Dame Laura Knight and was among the first to introduce European modernist styles, such as Cubism, to young artists in the Midwest when she returned to teach each autumn. She also regularly chaperoned art students to exhibitions outside of Columbus, introducing them to well-known artists and curators.



Exhibition Catalogue

The exhibition is accompanied by a 100-page catalogue authored by Tara Keny, James Keny and Kathleen A. Foster, a watercolor expert and senior curator of American art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The catalogue looks at Schille’s work in the context of the American Watercolor Movement and at the critical and creative context in which she practiced and exhibited. Twenty cameo essays describe important career moments and key relationships with artists Olive Rush, Gustave Baumann, William Merritt Chase and Columbus artist George Bellows.
  
Images

 Alice Schille, The Other Side of the Circus Wagon (Meal Time, Brittany), circa 1908-10, Watercolor. Collection of Ann and Tom Hoaglin.



Alice Schille, Mother and Child in a Garden, France, circa 1911-12, Watercolor. Collection of Ann and Tom Hoaglin.



Alice Schille, Sun Spots on the Road, circa 1911, Watercolor. Private Collection, Courtesy of Keny Galleries, Columbus, Ohio

Alice Schille, Gay Spots of Color on the East Side, New York, 1915, Watercolor. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Atwood.


Alice Schille, Midsummer Day, circa 1916, Watercolor. Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio: Gift of Ferdinand Howald.


Alice Schille, The Green Door, Morocco, circa 1922, Watercolor. Collection of Sally and Tom Kitch.  


Saturday, April 20, 2019

Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris


Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
April 7 through August 4, 2019

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Aristide Bruant in His Cabaret (detail), 1893.  Poster, color lithograph printed in black, red, green, and gray, proof before letters.  Otis Norcross Fund.  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Aristide Bruant in His Cabaret (detail), 1893. Poster, color lithograph printed in black, red, green, and gray, proof before letters. Otis Norcross Fund. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Paris was the center of nightlife and spectacle in the late 19th century, a moment immortalized in evocative posters, prints and paintings by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901). The artist’s extraordinary attention to the performers, dancers and actors of Montmartre—the heart of the city’s bohemian nightlife—is the focus of Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris, on view in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston's Ann and Graham Gund Gallery from April 7 through August 4, 2019. 

The exhibition of approximately 200 works is a collaboration between the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), and the Boston Public Library (BPL), drawing on both institutions’ extensive holdings of rarely displayed graphic works by Toulouse-Lautrec. It also includes a selection of loans from the Harvard Art Museums, the Houghton Library of Harvard University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, as well as local private collectors.
 
Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris explores the artist’s enthusiastic participation in the celebrity culture of his day and how, to a remarkable degree, he defined it for generations to follow. In addition to his famous lithographic prints and posters, which distilled the defining gestures, costumes and expressions of “les stars” of the day into instantly recognizable images, the exhibition features never-before-displayed early drawings and a selection of paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec.

Works by his contemporaries, including Pierre Bonnard, Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, John Singer Sargent and James Jacques Joseph Tissot, are also incorporated throughout the galleries, as well as recently restored period films, music, instruments and fashion accessories.



The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue produced by MFA Publications and a range of public programming offered at the Museum and the BPL’s Central Library and 25 neighborhood branches.

“We are proud to partner with the Boston Public Library to bring together these two rich collections of work by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. It’s exciting to be able to bring to life the spectacles of modern Paris, and offer the public unprecedented access to works of art in new ways,” said Matthew Teitelbaum, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the MFA. “This has been a true collaboration, and we’re extremely grateful to all of our colleagues at the BPL.”

The MFA’s conservation team undertook the preparation and framing of pieces from the BPL’s collection for the exhibition. Nine oversized posters were also sent for extensive conservation treatment, framing and digitization at the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) in Andover; this work was jointly funded by the MFA and the Associates of the Boston Public Library. Five of these posters are on view at the Museum in Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris, while the remaining four are displayed at the BPL’s Central Library in Copley Square. Additionally, the BPL’s complete collection of more than 350 works by Toulouse-Lautrec has been digitized and is available on digitalcommonwealth.org.

“Boston Public Library is thrilled to take our partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts to a new level, collaborating on this joint exhibition featuring the works of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and making them widely accessible to the public,” said David Leonard, President of the Boston Public Library. “This is not just a superb example of Boston’s cultural institutions working together, but also helps us unlock our vast historical collections for the enjoyment of all. This exhibition and its programming allow us to explore themes at the intersection of art and celebrity across the centuries.”



Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris opens with a selection of key works by Toulouse-Lautrec, including the artist’s first poster: the large and dramatic Moulin Rouge: La Goulue (1891, Metropolitan Museum of Art). Commissioned by the infamous dance hall Le Moulin Rouge, it marked Toulouse-Lautrec’s entry into the foray of advertising and celebrity culture and set a new standard for poster design, radically synthesizing artistic devices from a range of sources, including shadow theater and Japanese woodblock prints.



The introductory section also highlights Eldorado: Aristide Bruant in his Cabaret (1892, BPL), the first poster to include the self-designed monogram, HTL (for Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec), which the artist included on all of his subsequent posters. The monogram essentially functioned as a logo and linked Toulouse-Lautrec’s fame with the celebrities he depicted. Ultimately, such prints and posters, which could be seen all over Paris, established Toulouse-Lautrec’s reputation as one of the great printmakers of the late 19th century.

“The exhibition addresses the roots of a major aspect of public life today: celebrity culture and the power of images,” said Helen Burnham, Pamela and Peter Voss Curator of Prints and Drawings. “It also offers a remarkable opportunity to experience the depth and quality of Boston’s holdings of works by Toulouse-Lautrec. Few cities could mount a show of this nature without numerous outside loans. We have been able to put together a focused perspective on a critical aspect of an innovative artist’s career by combining two great collections and inviting the participation of a handful of important nearby supporters.”

Following the introduction, Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris is organized into five thematic sections: A Creative LifeParis by Day and NightBehind the ScenesThe Show and The Stars.
A Creative Life acquaints visitors with Toulouse-Lautrec, his artistic journey and his keen ability to record an impression with a few quick strokes on paper. He began drawing as a boy, encouraged by his father and uncles, all of whom were talented amateur artists. His early studies—many of which are exhibited for the first time—focused on horses and people, subjects that would fascinate him throughout his life. After moving to Paris from the south of France in 1882, he studied with academically trained painters, but soon became interested in the avant-garde—especially the work of Edgar Degas,




whose Racehorses at Longchamp (1871, possibly reworked in 1874, MFA) is on view.

Three early mature paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec are also featured, two of which are shown together for the first time in many years:

 

the MFA’s At the Café La Mie (about 1891)



and The Hangover (Suzanne Valadon) (1887–89), on rare loan for three months from the Harvard Art Museums.

The works in this section illustrate the artist’s experimentation with a variety of media, including lithography, which became one of his main vehicles for expression. A lithographic stone used by Toulouse-Lautrec is shown alongside two of the prints (or “impressions”) that it produced, offering insight into the artist’s technique.

Paris by Day and Night explores the city’s changing landscape during Toulouse-Lautrec’s lifetime. In the second half of the 19th century, old neighborhoods were razed to make way for new buildings, department stores, grand boulevards, omnibus transportation and public parks. By day, Paris bustled with fashionable residents, while by night, it earned its title as the City of Lights, with new forms of electric lightning and entertainment.

Excerpts from recently restored films by the Lumière Brothers (courtesy of Institut Lumière) show views of Paris around 1900, which are also depicted in paintings of modern life by Pierre Bonnard, Mary Cassatt, Robert Henri and James Jacques Joseph Tissot, as well as prints by Edgar Degas, Maxime Lalanne, Auguste Lepère, Henri Rivière and Jacques Villon.

Additionally, this section includes Toulouse-Lautrec’s advertising posters, which promoted a variety of products, services and venues, from paper confetti and bicycle chains to photography studios and literary magazines.



Behind the Scenes highlights




 

 the Elles portfolio (1896, BPL), one of the great achievements of Toulouse-Lautrec’s career. Shown in its entirety and in incredible condition, the series chronicles with unusual sensitivity the daily habits of women living in a Parisian brothel. Toulouse-Lautrec himself lived in brothels for extended periods of time, befriending the women who lived there and sketching them as they engaged in mundane activities like bathing, grooming or eating breakfast.

Additional lithographs on view in this section also depict various moments—from intimate scenes to relatively public scenarios—taking place in what Parisians described as a “half world” (or demi-monde) of sex workers, mistresses and courtesans in their city.

The Show immerses visitors in the nightlife of fin-de-siècle Paris, with images of performers and song sheets for period music. Among the highlights in this section are Toulouse-Lautrec’s depictions of






Caudieux, the “human cannonball,”



and May Belfort, an Irish songstress known for her signature baby-doll costume and black cat.

Also on view are

 

John Singer Sargent’s Rehearsal of the Pasdeloup Orchestra at the Cirque d’Hiver(about 1879–80, MFA)



and Pablo Picasso’s Stuffed Shirts (Les Plastrons) (1900, MFA), painted during the artist’s brief Toulouse-Lautrec-influenced phase.

The soundtrack for this gallery features a soundtrack that includes the famous Can-Can, from Orpheus in the Underworld, composed by Bedrich Smetana, Jacques Offenbach, Modest Mussorgsky and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

The exhibition culminates with The Stars, an in-depth exploration of six Montmartre celebrities who were made famous by Toulouse-Lautrec: cabaret star Yvette Guilbert; actor, painter and sculptor Sarah Bernhardt; Moulin Rouge dancer Jane Avril; opera performer Marcelle Lender; nightclub owner and performer Aristide Bruant; and dancer Loïe Fuller.

This section features popular works by Toulouse-Lautrec,

 
including three rare impressions (two color separations and a final proof) of Le Divan Japonais (1893, MFA), which depicts Yvette Guilbert on stage and Jane Avril as a spectator;  

 

Marcelle Lender (1895, MFA), one of his most technically complex lithographs;





and two versions of Aristide Bruant in his Cabaret (1893, MFA and BPL), one of his most successful and iconic poster designs.

Six rare prints of Loïe Fuller (1893, MFA, BPL and Metropolitan Museum of Art) are reunited in this gallery, each impression featuring a unique combination of colors enhanced with gold or silver powder to mimic the ever-changing visual effects of the dancer’s performances.

A recently restored, hand-colored film by the Lumière Brothers (courtesy of Institut Lumière) demonstrates the Serpentine Dance, which was invented by Fuller and performed by manipulating lightweight wands sewn into the hem of a voluminous skirt to create a swirling mass of fabric.

The Stars also includes a shadow theater produced to re-create the experience of attending the 1900 World’s Fair; a kaleidoscopic card that creates illusions of movement and changing colors; two “hold-to-light postcards” that can be illuminated by visitors; and a case of chic accessories from fin-de-siècle Paris.


Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris

The exhibition is accompanied by the catalogue Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris (April 2019, MFA Publications), written by curator Helen Burnham with contributions by Mary Weaver Chapin, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Portland Art Museum, and Joanna Wendel, Morse Curatorial Research Fellow in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the MFA. Lavishly illustrated with reproductions of iconic images and rarely seen sketches, the volume focuses on six performers depicted by Toulouse-Lautrec—Yvette Guilbert, Jane Avril, Aristide Bruant, Marcelle Lender, May Belfort and Loïe Fuller—and explores how they collaborated with the artist in exploiting new media to create stardom.



 Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril, 1899. Poster, color lithograph. Albert H. Wiggin Collection. Boston Public Library.


Also:

Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris opens at MFA Boston

Featured image is an 1895 lithograph from the catalog to MFA Boston's current exhibition, Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris, organized around six of the artist's legendary muses of the bohemian cabaret world. Titled "Marcelle Lender," the stage name of Anne-Marie Marcelle Bastien, this print captures one of the most beloved stars of Paris's light opéra bouffe. According to Joanna Wendel, Lautrec's interest in Lender blossomed into an obsession when he saw her perform a Spanish-style bolero in the light opera Chilpéric that same year.  

"The production was a striking success, running for more than a hundred performances and drawing praise for its lavish set and costume designs." Wendel quotes a letter from Lautrec to French writer Romain Coolus: "I come strictly in order to see Lender's back… Look at it carefully; you seldom see anything so magnificent. Lender's back is sumptuous." She concludes by speculating that Lautrec may have drawn inspiration for the composition from Japanese color woodcut portraits of courtesans, noting the unusually prominent Japanese-style monogram in the upper left corner. continue to blog