In terms of art, 2019 begins with an exceptional exhibition featuring masterpieces from the Pushkin Museum’s collection of drawings.
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The Pushkin Museum, 150 Years of Master Drawings
The Moscow museum, inaugurated at the beginning of the 20th century, currently houses more than 350,000 prints and 2,700 drawings. For this retrospective, the Fondation Custodia presents European and Russian graphic works from the 15th to the 20th centuries. Naturally, among such artistic richness, a selection of over 200 works had to be made, allowing the public to grasp the full beauty of this remarkable collection. Durer, Rubens, Fragonard, and Matisse are showcased alongside masters of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism such as Renoir, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Van Gogh.
This sublime exhibition is spread across the two levels of the Hôtel Levis-Mirepoix: the old drawings from the 15th to the 19th centuries are on the first floor, and the modern works from the 20th century are in the ground floor salon. Mr. Ger Luijten, director of the foundation, offers the French public works that are rarely exhibited in our country despite these treasures being world-famous, and he is, of course, very proud to host these drawings.
During this visit, the public will be immersed in the historical landscape of the art of drawing in Europe, starting with German sheets from the very end of the Middle Ages. These will be surrounded by drawings by Italian masters of the Renaissance and Mannerism. French drawing from the 17th century is represented by Poussin, Rembrandt, and Rubens. Several drawings by the latter have made the journey from Moscow to Paris, notably The Centaur Conquered by Love. Throughout the visit, we encounter Antoine Watteau and his depictions of galante parties, The Attack, one of Fragonard’s most prodigious drawings, and Study for the figure of Hersilia, a drawing by Jacques-Louis David.
The second level of the exhibition is devoted to European avant-garde movements with Matisse and Picasso. It is worth noting that the Pushkin Museum holds a significant collection of Matisse drawings. And for the Russian avant-gardes, Malevich and Kandinsky are perfectly represented alongside their European colleagues. This exhibition is very beautiful and very comprehensive.
Fondation Custodia
121, rue de Lille 75007 Paris
Every day except Monday from 9 am to 6 pm until May 12, 2019
Prices: €10 / reduced €7
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Portrait of a House at Victor Hugo’s, Hauteville House, Guernsey
The author of Les Misérables had two homes during his life, the one in Paris at Place des Vosges and another off the coast of Normandy on the island of Guernsey, where he spent 15 years of his exile from 1856 to 1870. Hauteville is a place that witnessed his political engagement as well as the development of his greatest successes. From the beginning of this exhibition, I learn that Victor Hugo was an avid decorator, to the point of having completely furnished and decorated his Norman residence. I was not aware of this aspect of him.
This Norman residence has just undergone a considerable restoration campaign thanks to the patronage of the Pinault Collection. Its ambition is to help (re)discover Victor Hugo’s Norman house as one of his most beautiful creations, thanks to the significant renovation work done to be as close to reality as possible: that is to say, recovering the house’s original appearance and the decors exactly as Victor Hugo had conceived and created them. The exhibition therefore offers a room-by-room tour of the house and old documents such as photographs showing visitors this thirst for creation he possessed. All these visual testimonies perfectly reflect the writer’s workspace and family life, and in a way, we are opening the family album and memories of the house as it was inhabited. Visitors will be immersed in true visual poetry.
Maison de Victor Hugo
6 place des Vosges
75004 Paris
Tuesday to Sunday until April 14, 2019, from 10 am to 6 pm
Prices: €8 / reduced €6
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Van Gogh, The Starry Night
Discovering an artist’s collection of works is also an opportunity to discover a place like the Atelier des Lumières, the first Digital Art center in Paris, installed within a fully restored 19th-century foundry. This center offers digital exhibitions that immerse the visitor in the pictorial and musical world of the great names in art history. With 140 video projectors and spatialized sound, this multimedia equipment covers 3,300 m2 of surface from floor to ceiling with walls up to 10 meters high. This year, the Atelier des Lumières offers an immersion into the works of the Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890).
In my skin, immersive exhibition.
Change of scenery and here we are at the Musée de l’Homme in Paris for a new exhibition about our skin. On the press kit, I see “Skin is an identity card” – not wrong when we know that our fingerprints are unique!
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Thomas Schütte at the Monnaie de Paris
A surprising and energetic historical venue that regularly offers exhibitions featuring contemporary artists.
At the moment, the institution is highlighting the German artist living in Düsseldorf, Thomas Schütte. He is recognized today as one of the main reinventors of sculpture in the 21st century.
The retrospective offered by the Monnaie de Paris is titled “Three Acts” and is organized around 3 intersecting themes: the human figure, death, and architecture.
The exhibition is, moreover, the fruit of a close collaboration with the artist who chose the presentation of each work on-site.
Good to know: there are 90-minute guided tours on Saturdays at 11 am and Sundays at 11 am and 3 pm
from March 15 to June 16, 2019
open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 7 pm and Wednesday until 9 pm
Monnaie de Paris
11, quai de Conti 75006 Paris
Prices: €12 / €8 during late-night opening on the 1st Wednesday of the month from 7 pm to 9 pm, and free for under 26s / free for under 18s, job seekers, recipients of minimum social benefits, and art students
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