Bonne Année
Happy New Year to all from Paris. There seems to be a feeling going around, at least in my small sampling, that the year will bring good things. Such optimism certainly can’t hurt. In any case, the old year ended calmly (apart from the political situation and the financial crisis, which are not subjects for this blog), a doux passage, a gentle transition from one year to the next.
Christmas Eve was spent dining with friends, followed by Midnight Mass at the Basilique Sainte-Clotilde, a beautiful Gothic structure built in the 19th century. I love Midnight Mass, and although I confess I haven’t learned the traditional Christmas carols in French, Adeste Fideles sung in Latin takes me back to a younger, less complicated time. You know you are in France when the music played during the Mass is by Saint-Saëns and Vivaldi.
If you happen to be in Paris, now is the time to take advantage of several exhibitions that will shortly end. The Petit Palais will close the exhibition of the photographs of Patrick Demarchelier, and the Jeu de Paume those of Lee Miller on 4 January. The 5th will mark the end of two exhibitions, the Jacques Villeglé at the Centre Pompidou and Mantegna at the Musée du Louvre. Finally, on 11 January the curtain falls on the beautiful Raoul Dufy retrospective.
However, the New Year looks more than promising in terms of fine and decorative arts. As usual, I will keep you posted in Save the Date as information becomes available, but here are a few highlights of coming events during the first six months of the year, in Paris and elsewhere.
The ongoing Picasso exhibitions continue until 9 February. Beginning in January, the Jeu de Paume (Paris) will host an exhibition of the photography of the American Robert Frank. Also in February, the Metropolitan (New York) welcomes Pierre Bonnard, while there will be a new Van Gogh exhibition at the eponymous museum (Amsterdam).
March brings an exhibition to the Musée d’Orsay (Paris) of sculptors who were first influenced by and then broke with Rodin, and the Grand Palais will open an exhibition of portraits by Andy Warhol, while the Musée de Beaux Arts (Quimper) has an exhibition devoted to Gauguin. The Centre Pompidou will feature an exhibition of the works of Alexander Calder done while he lived in Paris.
Trust London’s marvelous Victoria and Albert to come up with yet another spectacular exhibition. Baroque — Style in the Age of Magnificence opens on 4 April. In Paris, the Centre Pompidou will host a Kandinsky exhibition. For those interested in architecture and interior design, there are two exhibitions opening in Paris in April — one at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs of chairs by Jasper Morrison, another at the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine on ecologically sustainable architecture.^
In May, an exhibition at Hôtel de Ville will pay hommage to the architect Gustave Eiffel in a year that marks the 120th anniversary of his Iron Lady. Her birth caused quite a scandal at the time, making her the recipient of scorn and ridicule, yet the Tour Eiffel remains today the most recognizable symbol of the City of Light.
Also in May, the Musée du Louvre will have an exhibition of photography from the period of the Second World War.
I hope this will get you started on your planning. I wish you all a new year filled with health, love and success in all your projects.
Jan del Monte, blogging from the rue du Cherche-Midi, Paris, France
© 2009 Jan del Monte
Well, I must say that most residents here, in the States, are quite happy to be embarking upon a new year, if not a new decade, officially beginning later this month, January 21st. The state of art (no pun intended here) is dismal, with auction houses not doing well, museums trying to remain open and some selling off their artwork (a controversial subject at the moment), and funding for the arts being at an all-time low with pennies being pinched in every sector of the economy. Things can only improve, it seems — well, in actuality expectations are that they will get worse for a bit but then improve. We may have more to celebrate in 2010, when perhaps more of us will be able to visit Paris and the exchange rate will be good to us!