with Chris Boïcos and Dimitri Papalexis for costume
history.
The civilization of the Italian Renaissance
was first introduced to the French royal court by the great Valois king François I (1494-1547). His two most
famous architectural creations were the Louvre
palace in Paris and the royal hunting château of Fontainebleau that gave its name to the new art and architecture of
the era. He married twice: Claude de France (who gave her name to
the French green plum) and Eleanor of Austria. His most famous mistresses were
Françoise de Foix and Anne de Pisseleu duchess
of Etampes for whom he built a splendid bedroom in Fontainebleau. His son
and the second great Renaissance King of France, was Henri II (1547-1559) who married Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) from Florence. His mistress was the
highly cultivated Diane de Poitiers
who used the classical goddess Diana as her personal symbol. After Henri’s
sudden death in a jousting tournament, Catherine oversaw the successive and
unlucky reigns of her three sons François
II, Charles IX and Henri III. The 15-year old François II
was married to Mary Stuart the
future queen of Scotland. He reigned for a mere 5 months dying of a
mastoiditis. His brother Charles IX
married Elisabeth of Austria and took as his mistress the beautiful commoner Marie Touchet. He presided over the
infamous St Bartholomew night massacre of Protestants in Paris
in 1572 dying shortly after in a state of madness and delirium. Henri III, his
brother, who had in the meanwhile been given the kingdom of Poland rushed back
to France to assume the crown. He was married to Louise of Lorraine and was
falsely rumored to be a homosexual. He was killed by a fanatic monk in 1589.
None of Catherine’s sons had legitimate male children so the crown passed on to
their cousin the Protestant duke of Bourbon Henri IV ushering in a new era of French history (see next course
below). We will study the lives and doings of all the main characters of this
rich and turbulent period, using the fashion, art, decoration and architecture
of the French Renaissance as our main background.
Course
Schedule. Coffee and tea are served at gallery sessions
between 10:00 and 10:30 am.
Friday
14 Sep. 10:30 am – 12 noon – Slide Lecture – François I, Henri II, Diane de Poitiers and the dawning of the
Renaissance in France.
Friday 21 Sep. 11 am – 1 pm – Visit – Château
de Fontainebleau. A specific train time and meeting point at the Gare de
Lyon around 10 am will be announced closer to the time.
Friday
28 Sep. 10:30 am – 12 noon – Slide Lecture – Catherine de Medici, her sons and the Wars of Religion.
Friday 5 Oct. 10:30 am – 12 noon – Slide Lecture – Costume and fashions of Renaissance France. With couturier and
costume historian Dimitri Papalexis.
Friday 12 Oct. 10:30 am – 12 noon – Visit, Musée du Louvre – Painting and Sculpture of the French Renaissance.
Meet by information desk under Pyramid with ticket in hand at 10:15 am.
Students
will receive from the instructor a printed historical chronology and
architectural vocabulary.
Course fee: 100 € for the 5 sessions or 25 € per session payable by
check made out to: Galerie B.O.B.
Please note: Museum admissions are additional to course fees. Exact
change is appreciated.
Purchasing the “carte des amis du Louvre” is recommended
for the Friday courses.
Next Friday course:
Kings, Queens and Royal Mistresses -
the Bourbons - Henri IV and Marie de Medici: 1589-1630
with
Chris Boïcos and Dimitri Papalexis for costume history.
Friday
19 Oct. 10:30 – 12 noon – Slide Lecture – The
reign of Henri IV and the regency of Marie de Medici.
Friday 26 Oct. 11:15 am - 12:45 pm – Visit – Musée Carnavalet, place des Vosges and Marais mansions.
Meet courtyard
of musée Carnavalet at 11:00 am.
Friday 9
Nov. 10:30 am – 12 noon – Visit, Musée du Louvre – Rubens and Marie de Medici.
Meet by information desk under Pyramid with ticket in hand at 10:15 am.
Friday
16 Nov. 10:30 am – 12 noon – Slide Lecture – Fashions of the early Baroque era. With Dimitri
Papalexis.
Course
fee: 84 € for the 4 sessions or 25 € per session payable by
check made out to: Galerie B.O.B.
Paris Special
exhibitions with Chris Boïcos and
Dimitri Papalexis:
Thursday 13 Sep. 10:30 am – 12 noon. Gerhard Richter –
Panorama
Gallery
slide lecture on the exhibition at the Centre Pompidou (until 24 Sep.)
Gerhard
Richter (born in 1932) is considered the greatest
living German painter. He studied art in Dresden in the immediate post-war
years and emigrated to West Germany in the 1960’s where he first became famous
for his blurred, evocative paintings after black and white photographs of
German urban scenes and landscapes. The current retrospective of 150 works
first shown at the Tate gallery in
London, covers all periods of Richter’s career including his luscious abstract
paintings of the 1970’s and 1980’s. In the 1990’s he returned to the
photographic realism of his early career but concentrating this time on images
alluding to contemporary German history,
the Second World War and the terrorist group of Baader-Meinhof of the 1970’s. A
unique opportunity to witness the entire career of one of most lauded art stars
of the moment.
Place:
Galerie Beckel Odille Boïcos -
1, rue Jacques Cœur 75004 Paris.
Métro:
Bastille (lines 1,5,8) exit boulevard Henri IV
Time: 10 am for coffee and tea. 10:30 am for lecture.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday 20 Sep. 4 – 5:30 pm. Canaletto –
Guardi, the two masters of Venice.
At the
Musée Jacquemart André (14 Sep. – 14 Jan. 2013).
A rare
exhibition focusing on the evolution of the “vedute” (views) of
Venice in the 18th century by the greatest masters of the genre,
Canaletto and Guardi and their most talented followers, van Wittel, Clavarijs,
Marieschi and Belotto. 25 major Canalettos in the artist’s precise and luminous
topographical style and many fine “capriccios”
(imaginary views) by Guardi have been lent by major museum collections: the British royal collections,
Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, the Frick collection in New York and the museums
of Parma and Budapest.
Place: Entrance of museum 158 blvd
Haussmann 75008.
Métro: Miromesnil
(lines 9,13)
Time: 3:45 for 4pm entrance. Bring 11€ for ticket.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday 27 Sep. 4:30 – 6 pm. The Modern Art
Circle – Avant gardes in Le Havre.
At the
Musée du Luxembourg (19 Sep. – 6 Jan. 2013). Monet, Pissarro, Dufy, Marquet,
Braque, Bonnard and more…
A highly
original exhibition honoring an enlightened group of merchant collectors from France’s wealthiest
northern port city in
the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Olivier Senn,
Charles-Auguste Marande, Georges Dussueil and Pieter van de Velde are the chief
figures to become interested in modern art in Le Havre at the time of its
greatest prosperity. In 1906 they created an influential collectors’ club dubbed the “Cercle de l’art moderne”. Many of their
original purchases, now dispersed across the world, have been brought back
together for the first time. Among the major artists represented are Bonnard, Braque, Corot, Delacroix, Dufy,
Marquet, Monet, Pissarro and Valotton, many of whom are also from Le Havre.
Place:
Meet at entrance of museum, 19 rue de
Vaugirard 75006.
Métro: St
Sulpice or Odéon (lines 4,10).
Time: 4:10 for 4:30 pm start. Please bring 11€ for museum
ticket.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday 2 Oct. 11:30 am – 1:00pm. Van Cleef and Arpels – The Art of High Jewelry.
At the
Musée des arts décoratifs (20 Sep. – 10 Feb. 2013).
With
couturier and costume historian Dimitri Papalexis.
First
major exhibition of the historic creations of the celebrated jewelers of the place Vendôme. Founded by Alfred Van
Cleef and the brothers Charles and Julien Arpels in 1906 the jewelry house quickly conquered the clientele of the
wealthy and fashionable. In the 1920’s it created some of the most original art deco and exotic jewels often inspired by Egyptian, Chinese, Japanese and
Persian designs and was also famous for its “white” jewelry combining platinum and diamonds. Branches soon
opened in Deauville, Nice, Cannes, Vichy… In the 1930’s the house became famous
for the invisible mounting of
precious stones and in the post war years its pieces were worn by the most famous women of the day from Maria
Callas to Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor. 150 original pieces with a quantity of drawings and archival
documents illustrate the history and sophisticated techniques of this fabled
house.
Place:
Lobby of museum, 107 rue de Rivoli 75001.
Métro:
Palais-Royal-Musée du Louvre (lines 1, 7).
Time:
Meet at 11 :15 in the lobby for an 11 :30 start. Visit limited to 20 people. Please bring 9,50€ for ticket.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday 11 Oct. 10:15 – 11:45 am. Impressionism and
Fashion.
At the
Musée d’Orsay (25 Sep. – 20 Jan. 2013). With Chris Boïcos.
This
major exhibition co-produced by the Musée d’Orsay, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago, concentrates on the depiction of fashion
and costume in Impressionist painting between 1860 and 1880. With the expansion
of the industrial revolution, the birth of the department store, the modern
illustrated press and fashion plates, the mid 19th century
experienced a democratization and
vast expansion of fashion and accessories which was reflected in the painting
of the period. Writers such as Baudelaire,
Mallarmé and Zola placed costume
at the forefront of the depiction of “modernity”
and had a lasting impact on the painting of their artist friends: Manet, Monet, Degas, Bazille, Caillebotte and Morisot. The exhibition juxtaposes
famous masterpieces such as Monet’s
“Luncheon on the grass” or Degas’ “At the milliner’s” to original dresses,
accessories, photographs and prints of the era. This will undoubtedly be the
most popular exhibition of the rentrée.
Place: Group
entrance B – Musée d’Orsay 75007.
Métro:
RER Musée d’Orsay (line C) or Solférino (line 12).
Time: Meet at 10:00 am for a 10:15 start. Please bring 12€ for museum ticket.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday 18 Oct. 10:30 am – 12 noon. Edward Hopper
Gallery
slide lecture on the exhibition at the Grand Palais (10 Oct. – 28 Jan. 2013).
First
retrospective exhibition
in France of the work of the one of the greatest
20th century American painters, Edward Hopper (1882-1967). A large
selection of paintings, watercolors, prints and drawings illustrate all aspects
of his career from his early years in Robert
Henri’s studio and in Paris to
his New York and New England works of the late years.
Hopper created some of the most iconic
images of early 20th century urban America in his views of shop
fronts, bars, cinemas, offices or lonely apartment tenants in New York City.
These are complimented by his luminous visions of the New England seaside,
sailboats and Victorian porches, which offer an escape from the sometimes
oppressive vision of the modern city. This major show has been put together in
collaboration with the Thyssen
Bornemisza collection in Madrid
and the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
Place:
Galerie Beckel Odille Boïcos -
1, rue Jacques Cœur 75004 Paris.
Métro:
Bastille (lines 1,5,8) exit boulevard Henri IV
Time: 10 am for coffee and tea. 10:30 am for lecture.
Thursday 25 Oct. 10:15 – 11:45 am. Impressionism and
Fashion
At the
Musée d’Orsay (25 Sep. – 20 Jan. 2013). With couturier and costume historian Dimitri Papalexis.
This
major exhibition co-produced by the Musée d’Orsay, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Art Institute of Chicago, concentrates on the depiction of fashion
and costume in Impressionist painting between 1860 and 1880. With the expansion
of the industrial revolution, the birth of the department store, the modern
illustrated press and fashion plates, the mid 19th century
experienced a democratization and
vast expansion of fashion and accessories which was reflected in the painting
of the period. Writers such as Baudelaire,
Mallarmé and Zola placed costume
at the forefront of the depiction of “modernity”
and had a lasting impact on the painting of their artist friends: Manet, Monet, Degas, Bazille, Caillebotte and Morisot. Dimitri Papalexis will most
particularly concentrate on the costume fashions and innovations of the era and
discuss in detail the practical and symbolic aspects of costume in the context
of class and the social rituals and habits of the 19th century.
Place: Group
entrance B – Musée d’Orsay 75007.
Métro: RER
Musée d’Orsay (line C) or Solférino (line 12).
Time: Meet at 10:00 for a 10:15 start. Please bring 12€ for museum ticket.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Coming up in November and December:
Fridays: Louis XIII, Anne of Austria and the
childhood of Louis XIV: 1620-1653
with
Chris Boïcos and Dimitri Papalexis for costume history.
Friday
23 Nov. 10:30 – 12 noon – Slide Lecture – A
problematic marriage: Louis XIII and Anne of Austria.
Friday 30 Nov. 10:30 am – 12 noon – Visit, Musée du Louvre – Louis, Anne, Richelieu and the revival of
French painting.
Friday 7 Dec. 10:30 am – 12 noon – Visit, Musée du Louvre – Fashions in the art of the Baroque era.
With D. Papalexis.
Friday
14 Dec. 10:30? am – 12 noon – Visit, Val de Grâce – Anne of Austria, religion and the birth of Louis XIV.
(time to be
confirmed)
Course
fee: 84 € for the 4 sessions or 25 € per session payable by
check made out to: Galerie B.O.B.
Special
exhibitions with Chris Boïcos:
Raphael in Rome –
the late years, 1512-20 - Musée du Louvre – Thursday 8 Nov. 10:15 - 11:45 am.
Art in War, 1938-1947 – From Picasso to Dubuffet - Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de
Paris Thursday 15 Nov.
(time and date to be
confirmed)
Van Gogh and Japonisme - Pinacothèque – Tuesday 20 Nov. 4:00 – 5:30 pm. Ticket
9,50€.
Impressionisme
and Fashion – Gallery lecture – Tuesday 27 Nov
7:00 – 8:30 pm.
Mary Cassatt in
Paris - Mona Bismarck Foundation – Thursday 29 Nov.
(Time to be confirmed.)
Salvador Dali retrospective - Gallery lecture on Centre Pompidou exhibition
– Thursday 6 Dec. 10:30 am – 12 noon.
Robert Indiana – The 1960’s Pop artist at the
Grand Palais – Thursday 13 Dec. (time and date to be confirmed)
Course Fees: 25 € per session and 20 € per session when signing up for a
full series of 5 or more.
Museum fees are additional
to course fees.
