We celebrate Corot for his landscapes. In later life, and more or less in secret, he pursued a sideline – portraits of women. Why he was so reticent is unknown. “Among the most beautiful and underappreciated of the 19th century” says one critic. Degas commented: ““I believe Corot painted a tree better than any of us but still I find him superior in his figures.” More images are here.
Its easy to lose sight of Warhol, simply because he is so ubiquitous. This widely praised show focuses on the duality of his life – a gay from macho Pittsburgh; an active Catholic in secular New York; sincere artist and cynical businessman. He uniquely understood, says the curator, “America’s defining twin desires for innovation and conformity, public visibility and absolute privacy”.
Gauguin’s move to Polynesia still puzzles. Was he escaping wife and family, or embracing the primitivism becoming evident in his art? Little in his art indicates much knowledge of the Polynesian culture. If his was a spiritual journey, as a San Francisco show suggests, surely it was more about the fantasy in his middle-aged head than the reality of his tropical destination.
New York’s November art auctions raised a phenomenal $2bn. This knowledgeable writer details some goings-on. He admits that the huge numbers, the high octane gossip, the sheer excess, can be depressing. “The spiritual content of art is veering to the calibre of profundity of the local brand of toilet paper. Maybe a backlash will soon be underway—I can only hope.”