Lundi 10 mars 2014
Last update on 10/03/2014
Last update on 10/03/2014
The latest news in the History of Western Art from the Middle Ages to the 1930's
The Acquisitions of the Louvre Abou-Dhabi 27/04/2013
We will soon be able to see the exhibition currently showing in Abou-Dhabi here in Paris but a glance at the accompanying catalogue already gives us a good idea of the acquisitions policy pursued by France-Museums. We said it before : whether (...)
The Rijksmuseum Reopens after a Ten-year Renovation 25/04/2013
After closing for ten years, due to various delays in the renovation project, the Rijksmuseum finally reopened its doors to the public on 13 April. Fortunately, it was well worth the wait. When first learning that Wilmotte was in charge of the (...)
The Tragi-comic Mishaps of the Louvre Abou-Dhabi 16/04/2013
Libération in a byline signed Vincent Noce was the first to break the news. We congratulate him for his investigation on the snags encountered in the Louvre Abou-Dhabi project and for having managed to put his hands on the letter sent by the (...)
The Opening of the Louvre-Lens 06/12/2012
In the December issue of The Art Newspaper, Vincent Pomarède, director of the Département des peintures at the Musée du Louvre, responded to our criticism of the Louvre Lens, notably the "Galerie du Temps" for which he is one of the curators, with (...)
The Louvre Invents the Gruyère Museum 03/10/2012
Many of you probably remember the words spoken above by the president of the Louvre during an interview in Le Figaro. We had already pointed out that there was no need to wait for the Louvre-Lens to observe the holes, the Louvre was full of (...)
Versailles : Opening of the Galerie de l’Histoire at the Château 15/06/2012
The project to create a section at Versailles devoted to the history of the château was, in principle, a good idea as it is difficult for visitors to understand how the domain was established over time. This project, initiated by the previous (...)
The Mauritshuis, under Refurbishment, Exhibits at the Gemeentemuseum 14/05/2012
The Mauritshuis had already been renovated about twenty-five years ago and we still remember how, in 1986, the Grand Palais had welcomed an exhibition of 57 of its masterpieces (De Rembrandt à Vermeer). Having become too cramped in its historic (...)
The embargo on this information will be lifted tomorrow morning. However, since The Art Tribune has not received any information from the Louvre on the subject, this embargo does not concern us and we have chosen to discuss it (...)
Michelangelo : The Real Artist behind the Mona Lisa 01/04/2012
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) Oil on panel - 76.8 x 53 cm Paris, Musée du Louvre Photo : C2RMF Gianfranco Salvatori is well aware that he is about to set loose a veritable bomb which will go far beyond the confines of the museum world. (...)
The Extraordinary Development of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Montreal 22/03/2012
Some museums live in a state of grace. This is without a doubt the case of the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Montreal, under the expert direction of a French curator, Nathalie Bondil. In early autumn of 2011, a new pavillion featuring Quebecer and (...)
Alain Seban’s Beaubourg Circus not Expensive 12/03/2012
Among other controversial statements made by Alain Seban, recently reappointed as president of the Centre Pompidou, one of his latest, Le Monde of 2/3/12, was delivered without the slightest trace of humor, saying that the structure of the (...)
The Louvre Increasingly More (Radio) Active in Japan 16/01/2012
The Louvre will be sending about twenty works from all its departments (except Arts Graphiques) to three Japanese cities from 20 April to 17 September 2012 staying a little over a month at each stop[[The dates were provided by the Louvre. The (...)
Our Impressions of the New Installations at the Musée d’Orsay 03/01/2012
The Musée d’Orsay, now renovated and enlarged, opened its new galleries two months ago. Since then, many readers have been surprised at not seeing an article on this site about an event which has received extensive coverage (...)
Room A at the National Gallery in London : a Hidden Treasure 01/03/2011
Wednesday afternoons, from 2 to 5:30 only, room A at the National Gallery in London is open to the public. There are not many visitors and, yet this gallery in fact represents a major portion of the museum’s works in storage holding about 700 (...)
Reopening of the Musée départemental de Flandres in Cassel 16/11/2010
The Musée de Flandres in Cassel, closed for thirteen years, reopened its doors to the public last 29 October. A large budget has been allotted for acquisitions and restoration of works, while the building in which it is housed, a very beautiful (...)
The ambiguous exhibitions at the city’s museums in Paris 26/10/2010
At the time of the Bréguet exhibition at the Louvre, we had denounced it as more of a business operation than a cultural event, a tribute to the company but with little artistic foundation. At least the (unofficial) reason for this bending of (...)
The Musée de l’Histoire de France will be housed at the Archives Nationales 16/09/2010
The questions concerning the location of the Musée de l’Histoire de France will cease definitely next Sunday. The President of the Republic, during a trip to Lascaux, is supposed to announce that it will be installed in the buildings belonging to (...)
Frédéric Mitterand’s Museum plan 14/09/2010
After having recently expressed our doubts about the Culture Minister’s inactivity, he seems to have decided to prove us wrong by presenting a “Plan Musées en regions” (in fact, the word “regions” is unnecessary as this includes Parisian museums). (...)
Endangered museums (4) : the Musée de l’Assistance Publique 13/09/2010
Last 6th June, Frédéric Mitterand was scheduled to visit, as part of the operation « Rendez-vous au jardin », the gardens of the Hôtel Miramion, which houses the Musée de l’Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), as announced in the official (...)
Ajaccio and Bastia : Corsica’s museums get a facelift 25/07/2010
Anyone familiar with the Musée Fesch – rebaptized Palais Fesch-Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Ajaccio – already knows that it houses one of France’s most important art collections, second only to the Louvre for its Italian paintings. The recent renovation, (...)
The Musée Calvet continues its refurbishment 30/06/2010
A little over two years ago, we published an article on the Musée Calvet and how it had recently reopened almost all of its exhibition space after a lengthy refurbishment period. Just a few weeks ago, the museum inaugurated more rooms, this time (...)
Projected statutes for Versailles : another loss for art history 03/05/2010
We had expressed our worries to Jean-Jacques Aillagon concerning his plans to change the statutes for the Etablissement public de Versailles who answered by saying : “it will not change the director’s prerogatives or his mission in any way”. On (...)
Imperiled museums (1) : Auxerre 03/12/2009
The Abbaye Saint-Germain, housing the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire d’Auxerre, is made up of a group of buildings centered around an 18th century cloister. In the 20th century, the site was occupied by a hospital which moved in 1962, except for the (...)
The museum in Montmartre in danger 21/11/2009
The Musée de Montmartre is managed by the Société du Vieux Montmartre which originated in 1886 and since 1960 is located in one of the oldest houses on the hill (ill. 1), dating from the 17th century, the former residence of Claude Delarose, known (...)
Re-opening of the Musée Jean-Jacques Henner 12/11/2009
An understated establishment devoted to a somewhat misunderstood painter, the Musée Henner had closed its doors in 2005 for a complete renovation. It reopened to the public last Saturday, 7 November. The refurbishment did not consist only in (...)
An interview with Guy Cogeval, president of the Musée d’Orsay 14/10/2009
A little over a year and a half after his appointment at the head of the Musée d’Orsay, Guy Cogeval organized a press conference a few days ago to present the project for reorganizing the collections. He granted us an interview at this time (...)
France’s hidden museum 10/07/2009
The opening quote to our investigation was pronounced by the Minister of Culture in response to a question we asked during the press conference on Thursday, 29 January 2009 concerning inventory checks for art (...)
Georges de La Tour, scattered like pieces of a puzzle 18/05/2009
While case studies such as “the painting of the month” highlighting a work in the permanent collection are of real interest (new information, identifications or acquisitions are often presented) those focusing on only one work from another museum (...)
Read the entire article by Didier Rykner and Michel de Piles
The Musée d’art et d’histoire de Genève in danger 31/03/2009
Built in 1910, the Musée d’art et d’histoire in Geneva, a municipal museum, is currently a victim of two evils : its state of decay, due to reduced maintenance, calls for immediate restoration, and the lack of space for its permanent collections (...)
The ghosts of Versailles 22/02/2009
We have already discussed Jean-Jacques Aillagon’s determination, stated repeatedly, to restore and reopen the rooms of the Musée de l’Histoire de France of Louis-Philippe
The Roman Baroque Museum in Ariccia 03/12/2008
Visitors to Rome have so much to see in the Eternal City that they don’t necessarily think of going to Ariccia, a small town located less than an hour by train from the StazioneTermini
Interview of Fabrizio Lemme 03/12/2008
A major collector of 17th and 18th century Italian painting, particularly Roman artists, Fabrizio Lemme is also a generous donor. After offering several works to the Louvre and to the Galleria Nazionale at the Palazzo Barberini in Rome, he has (...)
Interview of Francesco Petrucci, director of the Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia 03/12/2008
Francesco Petrucci, director of the Palazzo Chigi, holds an architectural degree as a restorer of historical monuments. He has written many studies on the Baroque, notably a monograph on Bernini’s paintings. He thus progressively moved towards (...)
The Louvre without Vermeer 13/09/2008
1. Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) The Astronomer Oil on canvas - 51 x 45 cm Paris, Musée du Louvre (but not in 2009) Photo : Wikipedia With all eyes riveted on Abou Dhabi and Verona, the hope was that the Louvre-Atlanta agreement had been put (...)
Major projects for the future at the Musée d’Orsay 10/09/2008
On Thursday, 4 September, the new president of the Musée d’Orsay, Guy Cogeval presented his policies for the next four years to the press. He has obviously not been idle since being appointed as he has set out a full agenda which promises to (...)
An Interview with Jennifer Montagu 16/05/2008
Jennifer Montagu was in Paris during the Salon du Dessin, where she participated to a colloquium about the drawings of sculptors (see our interview with Guilhem Scherf). We took advantage of this occasion to meet and interview her about her (...)
The Musée Calvet, a rebirth ? 11/03/2008
1. Musée Calvet, Avignon Courtyard entrance Photo : Didier Rykner In 1988, the Musée Calvet in Avignon (ill. 1), housed in a beautiful XVIIIth century mansion built by the architect Franque, closed its doors for renovations that were supposed (...)
Jean-Patrice Marandel has been a curator at the LACMA for almost 15 years now. He is especially active in his acquisitions policy which is particularly discerning, often favoring Old Masters, French and Italian from the XVIth to the XVIIIth (...)
Interview with Prince Adam Karol Czartoryski, founder of The Princes Czartoryski Foundation 15/11/2007
Prince Adam Karol Czartoryski granted us an interview at the time of the presentation in Cracow of the multispectral photography and its results for the Lady with Mink by Leonardo da Vinci, a masterpiece in the collection at the Czartoryski (...)
The Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Ghent reopened last May 05/10/2007
1. Charles van Rysselberghe (1850-1920) Museum voor Schone Kunsten in Ghent Photo : D. Rykner Late May 2007, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Ghent reopened its doors after a four-year closing for renovation work. Little has changed in terms of (...)
Multispectral digitization is demonstrated at the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille 22/09/2007
We met the director of Lumière Technology, Jean Pénicaut a few months ago. The photographic process marketed by this company struck us as being absolutely revolutionary. During the European Heritage Days last weekend, Alain Tapié, director of the (...)
Reopening of the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence 20/08/2007
The latest trend in inaugurations is doing it twice. The former French Minister of Culture, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, did not hesitate in officially celebrating the opening of empty museums, weeks or even months before the public could gain (...)