Jean-Baptiste Huynh became well known in the 1990’s. His mysterious black and white photographs were easy to recognize from afar. Sometimes they were so depressing that the models were disconcerted. Musée Guimet is showing portraits he made while visiting his family in Vietnam in 1994 and returning many times to Asia thereafter. But also photos he took of the collections … Read More
“Hauteville House”, Victor Hugo’s magical retreat in Guernsey
Victor Hugo was the greatest French writer, dramaturge and poet of the 19 th century, he was a talented drawer and apparently a dedicated decorator. At least in the only house that he ever owned, Hauteville House on the British island of Guernsey, where he wrote “Les Misérables”, and many more plays and novels, between 1856 and 1870 when he … Read More
Leonardo da Vinci, five hundred years later in the Loire valley
1519 is the year when Leonardo da Vinci died on May 2, at château du Clos Lucé near Amboise. He had been called to the court of France at 65 and had brought paintings, writings, drawings and projects for new inventions. It is the year when Château de Chambord was built and the year Catherine de Medicis was born in … Read More
At Château d’Ecouen, witness the birth of Renaissance theatre
The birth of theater in the French Renaissance can only be tracked down thanks to writings and a few sketches of religious “Mysteries” played outdoors. Many representations in markets and other public places were linked to stages of Christ’s passion. These were set in different cities like Bourges in 1536, Valenciennes in 1547, Troyes, Chateaudun or Romans, which were very … Read More
Felix Nadar and family, a large mix at BNF
The pseudonym Nadar invented by Felix Tournachon in the 1840’s has become a synonym of early photography, of Parisian life and black and white excellence. We always forget that there were three “Nadars” and that Felix, the eldest was the greatest, as we can read in Stéphanie de Saint Marc’s excellent biography of the master. But Bibliothèque Nationale de France … Read More
A private photo collection at Caillebotte’s house in Yerres
La Maison Caillebotte was inaugurated in Yerres, 20 kms South East of Paris in June 2017. It used to be the famous painter’s house and Valérie Dupont-Aignan, a lawyer by training, has patiently redecorated it for the municipality. The result is superb and in the modern galleries, a collection of photographs belonging to Sondra Gilman and Celso Gonzalez-Falla is shown until … Read More
Fondation Henri Cartier Bresson has a new home in the Marais
Entering one’s new house is always a moving moment. When it is for Fondation Henri-Cartier Bresson, whose removal was announced for months from its Montparnasse premises on impose Lebouis, it is even more exciting. With an obvious exhibition of Martine Franck‘s pictures, the opening becomes a faultless event. The selection of photographs made by director Agnès Sire is fun, varied … Read More
At Fondation Cartier, Geometry is Latin American!
Fondation Cartier has accustomed us to fun and high quality exhibitions ranging from architecture to African art and photography. This time, “Southern geometries from Mexico to Patagonia” could seem like an aggregate of shapes and colors that have nothing in common. But it actually gives us a leading thread between pre Hispanic art and today’s Indian and contemporary art. … Read More