THAT AUSTERE YET EXPRESSIVE INSTRUMENT: THE PENCIL
Until 1913 the Devambez Gallery became “the dreamed-of, fixed, regular, sufficiently large, well lit and assiduously frequented home” for the annual exhibitions and retrospectives of the French...
View ArticleNATURE DAILY WOUNDS ME WITH ITS ARROWS
“Nature daily wounds me with its arrows”. These words by Auguste Rodin capture the inner feeling that prompted the master to turn to drawing at the pinnacle of his career. The exhibition of 135...
View ArticlePAUL GUILLAUME, AMBASSADOR FOR NEW TASTE
“If Apollinaire were still alive, he would have opened the vernissage, accompanied by Braque, Derain and Picasso […]. But Apollinaire is no more […], it is thus Jean Cocteau who will say the Negro...
View ArticleTHE WARDROBE OF AN ELEGANT GENTLEMAN
“From 1830 to 1840, Brummell and the Count of Orsay created a following in France”: true masters of dress and manners, arbiter elegantiarum of both European fashion capitals – London and Paris – their...
View ArticleCONFESSIONS OF AN ENTHUSIAST
Not only was Paul Poiret one of the pillars of modern fashion in the first half of the twentieth century; he was also an enthusiastic collector. For over fifteen years, this “enthusiast free of...
View ArticleBOHEMIANISM IN MONTMARTRE
“The exhibitors present views of Montmartre, pictures of the heroes and regulars who throng to this Parisian district with its special character; we also see, perpetuated in pastel or crayon, aspects...
View ArticleA WELL DRESSED GENTLEMAN SHOULD NOT BE CONSPICUOUS
“A well dressed gentleman should not be conspicuous. […] Looking with blithe condescension upon the extravagant suits, oversized collars, gold chains and pointed hats of the Bohemian bousingots, the...
View ArticleAUGUSTE RODIN: THE SECRET PERFECTION OF THE UNFINISHED
“All of Paris has been flocking there for days.” Thus Gil Blas announced the exhibition of 144 erotic drawings by Rodin that opened on 19 October 1908 at the Devambez Gallery. The scandalous sketches...
View ArticleAT THE COURT OF THE MEDICI
On 14 November 2012, Italian tradition encountered Parisian luxury: the Magliabechiano Room, a sumptuous showcase for some of the rarest books in Italy, provided the setting for a donation of a copy...
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