The Easel

12th October 2021

Poussin and the Dance review, National Gallery: A youthful, light-hearted look at the French painter

Poussin, the “father of French painting”, has a reputation for “emotionally remote”, even “stuffy” works. Well, that’s not the whole story. At age 30, Poussin went to Rome. Inspired by its ancient statues and sensual lifestyle, he suddenly started painting lighthearted – even bawdy – dance scenes. His later career returned to serious and sombre but, for a decade, Poussin painted “post-Renaissance rave art”. His “austerely beautiful” art was, for a time, not quite so inscrutable.

5th October 2021

French and Russian Art on a ‘War and Peace’ Scale

Late Tsarist Russia spawned two great modern art collections. The Shchukin Collection was shown in Paris in 2016. Now the Morozov Collection is on show, also in Paris, the first time it has left Russia. No superlative seems too grand. Bonnard’s landscapes are a “showstopper”, the Gauguin’s are of “staggeringly high quality” and there are “incredible helpings of Cézanne, Monet and Matisse”. A “stupefying” exhibition, one that is “legitimately historic”. Images are here.

Understanding ‘L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped’

The Arc de Triomphe is now being unwrapped IRL, with little sign of a critical consensus. One French journalist tweeted “I am ashamed.” A writer happily admits the wrapping is both “nonsensical” and “transfixing, like seeing a frozen waterfall.” To another, it’s “joyous and lurid” and a reminder that “all things must come to an end”. Finally, a Paris resident – “I pass the Champs-Élysées most days. I never even notice the Arc de Triomphe. But now, I see it.”