Not a Picasso? The 1st Modern Woman, Sculptors & Concert Halls...

IN THE NEWS-

- Met Will Finally Show a Picasso He Disowned : "Picasso denied having painted “Erotic Scene” (known as “La Douleur,” or “The Pain”) a sexually charged canvas of a naked woman with her head buried in a young man’s lap. “I’ve done worse,” Picasso told Pierre Daix, one of his pals and the author of several books about him. “But it was a joke by friends.” In 1982 the painting was given to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which promptly put it in storage, never to hang on the Met’s walls. Until now. On April 27 “Erotic Scene” will be making its American debut as part of a splashy exhibition of the Met’s collection of some 300 works... Read the full story


ARTS ALMANAC-

April 11, 1492: Marguerite de Navarre- patron of arts, poet, and the first "Modern Woman", was born. Also known as Marguerite d'Angoulême, Marguerite de Valois, or Marguerite de France, she was "the queen consort of King Henry II of Navarre; as patron of humanists and reformers, and as an author in her own right, she was an outstanding figure of the French Renaissance. Samuel Putnam called her "The First Modern Woman". Her salon became famously known as the "New Parnassus"...Marguerite wrote many poems and plays and the classic collection of stories, the Heptameron. As a generous patron of the arts, Marguerite befriended and protected many artists and writers, among them François Rabelais, Clément Marot, and Pierre de Ronsard."

Historian Will Durant wrote: "In Marguerite the Renaissance and the Reformation were for a moment one. Her influence radiated throughout France. Every free spirit looked upon her as protectoress and ideal .... Marguerite was the embodiment of charity. She would walk unescorted in the streets of Navarre, allowing any one to approach her and would listen at first hand to the sorrows of the people. She called herself 'The Prime Minister of the Poor'. Henri, her husband, King of Navarre, believed in what she was doing, even to the extent of setting up a public works system that became a model for France. Together he and Marguerite financed the education of needy students."

April 11, 1869: Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor, was born. In Paris the young Vigeland "frequented Auguste Rodin's workshop, while in Italy he experimented with ancient and Renaissance artworks. Back in Oslo, he obtained from the town an abandoned studio in which to work. In 1905 Norway became independent from Sweden: Vigeland, considered the most talented Norwegian sculptor, received numerous commissions for statues and busts celebrating renowned compatriots like Henrik Ibsen and Niels Henrik Abel."

April 11, 1888: The Concertgebouw concert hall in Amsterdam was officially opened. "The Dutch term "concertgebouw" literally translates into English as "concert building". Because of its highly regarded acoustics, the Concertgebouw is considered one of the finest concert halls in the world, along with places such as Boston's Symphony Hall and the Musikverein in Vienna.


IN OUR STORE-

"Les Proportions du Corps Human, Mesurees sur les plus belles Figures de l’Antiquite"

By Gerard Audran.

Printed in Paris by Chez Joubert in 1801.

A reissue of the 1683 edition. Gerard Audran [1640-1701] came from an artistic family in Lyon and was taught engraving by his father, Claude. He worked for Le Brun in Paris, and gained favor with the patron J. B. Colbert, through whose efforts he was appointed engraver to Louis XIV. This work is an interesting study of ideal human proportions for artists, based on ancient sculpture he studied while in Rome.

$375.00

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