The only portraitist who bequeaths to us the customs of his age with

Transcription

The only portraitist who bequeaths to us the customs of his age with
PRESS RELEASE
EXHIBITION
FROM OCTOBER 11, 2012
TO JANUARY 27, 2013
Curator
Jérôme Neutres
Decorator
Jacques Grange
Set designer
agence NC, Nathalie Crinière
01. Marcel Proust, 1892
Oil on canvas, 73,5 x 60,5 cm
Paris, Orsay museum
© RMN (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski
© ADAGP, Paris 2012
The Fondation Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent is dedicating its 18th exhibition to the painter Jacques-Émile
Blanche (1861-1942). Blanche frequented artistic circles from an early age, becoming French high society’s most
sought-after portraitist by the end of the 19th century.
The exhibition focuses on the painter’s apogee prior to 1917 and will include seventy paintings arranged in a
turn-of-the-century setting, among which visitors will find portrais of the young Proust, Gide, Rodin, Cocteau,
Debussy, Stravinsky, Degas, Mallarmé, Louÿs, Claudel and other major figures of the Belle Époque. The
exhibition conveys the candid regard of an extraordinary observer of his time, a world soon to be swept away by
the First World War.
This exhibition is organized in partnership with
PRESS / COMMUNICATION
Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent
Laetitia Roux / +33 (0)1 44 31 64 17 / [email protected]
Olivier Flaviano / +33 (0)1 44 31 64 19 / [email protected]
5 avenue Marceau F-75116 Paris // Tél. +33 1 44 31 64 00 // www.fondation-pb-ysl.net
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02. Marguerite de Saint-Marceaux, 1890
Pastel, 74 x 49 cm
Private collection
© Jane Roberts Fine Arts, Paris. © ADAGP, Paris 2012
5 avenue Marceau F-75116 Paris // Tél. +33 1 44 31 64 00 // www.fondation-pb-ysl.net
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I. THE EXHIBITION
Portraits of a Society
Even before the turn of the 20th century, Blanche, wealthy heir and pillar of high society
held salons in Paris and in Dieppe. His experience of life in the beau monde inspired more
than 1500 portraits, but his discerning gaze transforms his subjects into icons of their
time, just as À la recherche du temps perdu (Remembrance of Things Past) is not a mere
chronicle of society, but the depiction of the end of an era.
The exhibition aims to recreate the ambiance of
the salon imaginaire of the masterly painter portraitist
Jacques-Émile Blanche. His portraits depict a world of
creators, a society of artists and Proustian characters,
such as Anna de Noailles. A gathering at the home of
Mr. Blanche was a meeting of the minds composed of
distinguished people chosen not in a spirit of elitism,
but as an exercise in creative inspiration. “I love society
and personalities,” as Paul Valéry described it.
03. Sir Coleridge Kennard or ‘‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’’, 1904
Huile sur toile, 117 x 95 cm
Private collection
© Jane Roberts Fine Arts, Paris. © ADAGP, Paris 2012
04. Skecth for the portrait of Anna de Noailles, 1912
Oil on canvas, 61 x 61 cm
Rouen, museum of Fine Arts
© RMN / Agence Bulloz. © ADAGP, Paris 2012
‘‘My articles, my studies, my books are, like my painted work,
only the paragraphs or pages of a little history of my time.’’
Jacques-Émile Blanche
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05. Pierre Louÿs, 1893
Oil on canvas, 110 x 87 cm (with frame)
Private collection
© Jane Roberts Fine Arts, Paris. © ADAGP, Paris 2012
5 avenue Marceau F-75116 Paris // Tél. +33 1 44 31 64 00 // www.fondation-pb-ysl.net
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Paris, center of creativity in 1900
We must ask our imaginations to bring us back to the seminal year, ‘‘1900’’, before the
apocalypse of 1914-1918, a world already modern, but not yet contemporary, divided
between reckless spontaneity and insecurity, confronting industrial and technological
upheaval while nourishing epic creativity. History has named the period from 1879 to
1914, the “Belle Époque”: a time of peace, progress, economic prosperity and artistic
breadth.
An era which introduced the
concept of the secular society,
invented the word “intellectual”
and fostered cultural
democratization. A world which
spent the winters in Paris, and the
summers in Dieppe. A universe
which produced the literature of
Proust, Debussy’s music, Degas’s
painting, Nijinski’s dancing, and
Bergson’s philosophy. The end
of one world encountering the
beginning of another…
06. Nijinski, 1911
Oil on canvas, 81 x 65 cm
Private collection
© Jane Roberts Fine Arts, Paris
© ADAGP, Paris 2012
‘‘The painters, like the writers that he loved,
were those destined to one day be great,
a day for which he lived in anticipation,
so that his judgements might prove true.’’
Marcel Proust
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The exhibition critically examine Blanche’s reputation as the Proust of painting. It was
hardly by chance that Jacques-Émile Blanche published the first article on the subject of
Du côté de chez Swann (Swann’s Way) in 1914. Colette, upon the death of the painter, wrote:
“Jacques-Émile Blanche painted the billowy, ruffled roses that Madam Swann attached to
her corsage.”
Only recently rediscovered, few exhibitions have
been consecrated to one of France’s most famous
painters, notable exceptions being two exhibitions
in Rouen in 1951 and again in 1997. Since 1943, the
public has not had the opportunity to view Blanche’s
paintings on exhibition in Paris, the city central to
his work.
07. Paul Claudel, 1919
Oil on canvas, 81 x 100,5 cm
Rouen, museum of Fine Arts
© RMN / Agence Bulloz. © ADAGP, Paris 2012
A Salon in 1900
The exhibition space of the Foundation will be
reinvented by Nathalie Crinière and decorated
by Jacques Grange in the spirit of a Belle Époque
interior. The visitor will encounter the characters of
the imaginary salon, represented by their portraits,
densely hung in the nineteenth century style of
display, and accompanied by an original sound
montage.
08. Le Boudoir bleu, 1905
Oil on canvas, 90,5 x 70 cm
Lyon, museum of Fine Arts
© Lyon MBA / Photo Alain Basset © ADAGP, Paris 2012
‘‘The only portraitist who bequeaths
to us the customs of his age with a
sharp, post-impressionist talent.’’
Jean Cocteau
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II. JACQUES-ÉMILE BLANCHE’S TIMELINE
1861: Born in Passy on January 31 into a family with roots in France’s Normandy
region. He is the son of Doctor Émile-Antoine Blanche, well-known psychiatrist, and
Maupassant’s personnal doctor.
1870: The Franco-Prussian War breaks out and the German army invades Normandy.
The Second Empire falls and the Third Republic is proclaimed. The Blanche family
sends the young Jacques-Émile to stay with friends in London.
1871: Marcel Proust is born in Auteuil on July 10, in the house of his grandfather, Nathé
Weil, gentleman and financier, and neighbour of the Blanche family.
1874: Attends high school at the Condorcet Lycée where his English teacher is Stéphane
Mallarmé and he befriends Henri Bergson.
1875: Mentor Edmond Maître takes him to the studios of
Edouard Manet and Henri Fantin-Latour, who were, like Edgar
Degas, friends of the Blanche family.
1878: Hurt in an accident, jumping from a tram. His limp allows
him an exemption from military service.
1879: Visits Monet’s studio and buys a painting, La Chaumière.
1882: First exhibition at the Salon des Artistes Français.
1884: Buys 11 paintings from Edouard Manet, including La
Femme au gant for 500 francs from dealer Paul Durand-Ruel.
1883: Meets Oscar Wilde.
1885: Meets Maurice Barrès, very influential friendship.
1892: Paints Marcel Proust’s portrait. Begins writing in the
journal which he will keep until his death.
1893: Exhibition of eleven portraits by Blanche, including one
of Proust held at the Salon du Champ de Mars. Doctor ÉmileAntoine Blanche dies.
09. Jean Cocteau, 1913
Oil on canvas, 205 x 11 cm
Grenoble, museum of Fine Arts
© Musée de Grenoble. © ADAGP, Paris 2012
1895: Marries Rose Lemoinne, the eldest of John Lemoinne’s
three daughters. Lemoinne is the editor of the review, Les
Débats, and member of the Institut de France. Pierre Puvis de
Chavannes is a witness at the wedding.
1896: Opens a studio in London. He will alternate between
France and England.
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1897: Honored as a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.
1899: The Dreyfus Affair pits Blanche, an “antidreyfusard”, against Proust, who defends
the unjustly condemned Jewish officer. Their falling-out will last fourteen years.
1900: Awarded the gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris.
1902: Exhibition of Blanche’s paintings in Berlin.
1910: Meets twenty-one-year-old Jean Cocteau, who captivates Blanche with his
intelligence and sense of humor. Thus beginning an important friendship.
1912: Invited to the Venice Biennale, where he completes decorative panels with a
screen motif. Publication of Blanche’s first written work, Études et portraits. Attends a
performance of Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi
d’un faune, choreographed by Vaslav Nijinski.
1913: Writes a lengthy review in L’Écho de Paris in April
1914 of Du côté de chez Swann (Swann’s Way), the first
volume of Marcel Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu
(Remembrance of Things Past), published by Bernard
Grasset. Le Sacre du printemps by Igor Stravinski is
performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. André
Gide reads his new book, Les Caves du Vatican, to
Jacques-Emile Blanche. Blanche writes Aymeris, his only
novel, to be published in 1922.
1914: Exhibition at the Bernheim-Jeune Gallery in Paris.
On August 3, Germany declares war on France.
10. André Gide, 1912
Oil on canvas, 81 x 98 cm
Rouen, museum of Fine Arts
© RMN / Agence Bulloz. © ADAGP, Paris 2012
1915: Publication of the first volume of Blanche’s
Cahiers d’un artiste by the NRF. Five more volumes will
follow.
1916: Meets Mauriac, who poses for him in 1917 and 1923.
1919: Publishes essay De David à Degas with a preface by Proust.
1922: Death of Marcel Proust.
1923: Opening of room dedicated to Jacques-Émile Blanche at the Museum of BeauxArts in Rouen. The Museum of Beaux Arts in Rouen conserves the most important
collection of Jacques-Émile Blanche’s work, including more than 150 paintings, the
majority of which were given to the museum by the artist himself between 1922 and
1932. In addition to his own works, he included in his donations works by his friends,
Jean-Louis Forain, Walter Sickert and John Singer Sargent.
1942: Death of Jacques-Émile Blanche.
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11. Paul Baignères, 1891
Oil on canvas, 98 x 68 cm
Private collection
© Jane Roberts Fine Arts, Paris. © ADAGP, Paris 2012
‘‘Portraitist I am and desire to be,
of all and above all.’’
Jacques-Émile Blanche
5 avenue Marceau F-75116 Paris // Tél. +33 1 44 31 64 00 // www.fondation-pb-ysl.net
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III. BIOGRAPHIES
Jérôme Neutres, curator
Jérôme Neutres possesses a Doctorate in Literature. He is Advisor to the President of
the Réunion des musées nationaux-Grand Palais as well as a member of the Board of
Directors of the National Museum of Asian Art-Guimet. He is also the author of many
texts on art and literature, including Genet sur les routes du sud (Fayard), L’Amour fou (Maren
Sell), New Delhi New Wave (Damiani), Le Goût de New York (Mercure de France) and he
edited El Objecto invisible (Thassalia), a single volume of Genet’s collected writings on art
and literature in Spanish.
Jérôme Neutres curated Helmut Newton at the Grand Palais, Paris, Les Derniers Maharajas at
the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, Paris, New Delhi New Wave at the Espace
Marella, Milan and Basquiat French Collections at the Payne Whitney Mansion, New York.
Jacques Grange, decorator
Following a rigorous education at the École Boulle and at the École Camondo, Jacques
Grange began his career as a decorator in France and abroad during the 1970s. Whether
classic or contemporary, his style is timeless and elegant.
Jacques Grange’s interiors are inspired by the artistic visions of his clients from Yves
Saint Laurent, for whom he decorated the Château Gabriel in the style of À la recherche du
temps perdu [Remembrance of Things Past], to Francis Ford Coppola’s palazzo in Italy.
His work is rooted in fantasy and in the culture he shares with friends and clients such
as Madeleine Castaing, Marie-Laure de Noailles, Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Bergé, Sofia
Coppola, Ronald Lauder, François Pinault and Terry de Gunzburg.
He recently designed the interiors of the Mark Hotel and the Bloomberg Tower
in New York, selecting as his collaborators contemporary artists and great French
artisans. Jacques Grange’s style is infused with the delicacy and refinement of French
and European culture.
According to Mel Byars in The Museum of Modern Art Design Encyclopedia, Jacques Grange
is recognized as “the best living decorator in the world.”
Nathalie Crinière, set designer
Nathalie Crinière studied Interior Design at the École Boulle and Industrial Design at
the École Nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Paris in Industrial Design. After
studying at the Georgia Tech Institute of Technology in Atlanta, she spent a year in
Barcelona in the agency of Pepe Cortes, the interior designer. After returning to Paris she
opened her own agency, NC Nathalie Crinière.
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Noted for her exemplary work for the Jean Cocteau exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in
2003, she has mounted several exhibitions at the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint
Laurent, and designed the scenography for the objects displayed at the Christie’s auction
held at the Grand Palais in February 2009. She is also responsible for the scenography
of the major Yves Saint Laurent Retrospective presented at the Petit Palais in 2010, as well as
Beauté, morale et volupté dans l’Angleterre d’Oscar Wilde at the Musée d’Orsay in autumn 2011.
In 2012, she returned to the hall of the Grand Palais for the exhibition, La France en relief,
and created the scenography for Debussy, la musique et les arts at the Musée de l’Orangerie.
www.agencenc.fr
Francis Kurkdjian, Artist-perfumer
Francis Kurkdjian has created an olfactory ambiance for the exhibition space.
As a child, Francis Kurkdjian studied piano and classical dance. At the age of fifteen,
he decided to become perfumer and undertook a line of study which led him to the
École Internationale de Parfumerie (ISIPCA). At twenty-five years old, he signed his first
perfume: Le Mâle for Jean Paul Gaultier. Dozens of fragrances followed, destined for the
universe of fashion, beauty and luxury goods.
In 2001, he was the first perfumer to open his own customized perfume workshop. He
collaborated with other renowned artists and organized olfactory performances in Paris,
Versailles and Shanghai for thousands of visitors. In 2009, he founded his eponymous
Maison de Parfum.
The olfactory aspect of the exhibition links the past and the present, allowing visitors to
Du côté de chez Jacques-Emile Blanche to experience the aromas of another time.
www.franciskurkdjian.com
Karol Beffa, Composer
Karol Beffa has specially recorded an improvisation on the piano for this exhibition.
First in his class at the Ecole Normale Supérieure, Mr. Beffa studied history, English,
philosophy and mathematics. He enrolled at the Conservatoire National Supérieur
de Musique de Paris en 1988 and obtained eight First Prizes. First in his class at the
Agrégation d’éducation musicale, Mr. Beffa taught at the Université Paris IV- Sorbonne
and then at the Ecole Polytechnique. He was elected annual chairman of artistic creation
at the College de France for the year 2012-2013.
In 2000, he represented France at the International Biennial of Young Artists of Turin
(BIG Torino 2000). Resident composer at the National Orchestra of the Capitole in
Toulouse from 2006 to 2009, Karol Beffa was named “Best Composer of the Year” at
the Victoires de la Musique in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. He regularly improvises the
accompaniment for mute films and text readings. He is the author of around fifteen film
soundtracks and two theatrical soundtracks.
5 avenue Marceau F-75116 Paris // Tél. +33 1 44 31 64 00 // www.fondation-pb-ysl.net
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IV. ACCOMPANYING THE EXHIBITION
Works devoted to Jacques-Émile Blanche
Du côté de chez Jacques-Émile Blanche
Un salon à la Belle Époque
Exhibition catalogue directed by Jérôme Neutres
Texts by Jérôme Neutres and Jane Roberts
Éditions Skira-Flammarion, 2012, 160 pages, €30
Jacques-Émile Blanche
Monograph by Jane Roberts
Éditions Gourcuff Gradenigo, 2012, 208 pages, €39
Jacques-Émile Blanche, le peintre écrivain
Biography by Georges-Paul Collet
Éditions Bartillat, 2006, €28
Conferences
The Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent organises events open to all, on the
occasion of each exhibition: curators, historians, conservators and artists assist us to
deepen and enrich our view of the subjects addressed by each exhibition.
Three to four conferences, presented by Monique Younès, will take place in the evenings
in the Salons of the Foundation.
For more information on the program starting in October 2012, please take a look at our
Internet site: www.fondation-pb-ysl.net or subscribe to the Newsletter.
Conference ticket price included in the exhibition entry fee.
Attendees must make a reservation: [email protected]
or 01 44 31 64 17 / 19
5 avenue Marceau F-75116 Paris // Tél. +33 1 44 31 64 00 // www.fondation-pb-ysl.net
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V. VISIT THE EXHIBITION
Exhibition Space
Du côté de chez Jacques-Émile Blanche
Un salon à la Belle Époque
from October 10, 2012 to January 27, 2013
3 rue Léonce Reynaud, 75116 Paris
Open from Tuesday to Friday, except national holidays
from 11 am to 6 pm (last entry at 5.30 pm)
Tél. +33 (0)1 44 31 64 31
Accessible for people with disabilities
Full price : 7€
Reduced price : 5€ for students, people under 25 years old and seniors upon presentation of a
valid card
Free : ICOM-ICOMOS card holders, children less than 10 years of age and job seekers, upon
presentation of a valid card less than 1 year old
www.fondation-pb-ysl.net
www.facebook.com/fondation.pb.ysl
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VI. FONDATION PIERRE BERGÉ - YVES SAINT LAURENT
The Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, which opened in 2002, is the
culmination of forty years of creativity. It retraces the world of fashion created by
Yves Saint Laurent, fashion that reveals the inner workings of society. Using masculine
codes, Saint Laurent brought women a sense of security and daring while preserving
their femininity. His clothes embody 20th century history. They have accompanied the
emancipation of women in every domain, whether personal, social or political.
Today, the Foundation transforms these memories into projects, pursuing an adventure
begun long ago.
The mission of the Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent, a state-recognized
foundation since December 5, 2002, is to:
• Conserve 5,000 garments, 15,000 haute couture accessories and 35,000 sketches and
other items that testify to Saint Laurent’s genius;
• Organize exhibitions: fashion, painting, photography, drawing, etc.
• Support artistic, cultural and educational projects.
In 2010, the Fondation inherited the Jardin Majorelle in Marrakech, saved by Yves Saint
Laurent et Pierre Bergé in 1980, in which opened a Berber Museum in 2011.
5 avenue Marceau F-75116 Paris // Tél. +33 1 44 31 64 00 // www.fondation-pb-ysl.net
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Exhibitions at the Foundation
Coming soon
Art sacré du Tibet. Collection Alain Bordier
from March to July 2013
Past exhibitions
Kabuki - Costumes du théâtre japonais, 2012
Gisèle Freund, L’Oeil frontière, Paris 1933-1940, 2011
Saint Laurent rive gauche, La révolution de la mode, 2011
David Hockney : Fleurs fraîches, 2010
Vanité. Mort, que me veux-tu ?, 2010
Les derniers Maharajas, 2010
Le costume populaire russe, 2009
Jean-Michel Frank, un décorateur dans le Paris des années 30, 2009
David Seidner Photographies, 2008-2009
Une Passion marocaine Caftans, Broderies, Bijoux, 2008
Yves Saint Laurent Théâtre, Cinéma, Music-hall, Ballet, 2007-2008
Yves Saint Laurent Nan Kempner, une américaine à Paris, 2007
Yves Saint Laurent Voyages Extraordinaires, 2006-2007
André Ostier Photographies, 2006
Yves Saint Laurent Smoking Forever, 2005-2006
Robert Wilson Les Fables de La Fontaine, 2004-2005
Yves Saint Laurent Dialogue avec l’art, 2004
5 avenue Marceau F-75116 Paris // Tél. +33 1 44 31 64 00 // www.fondation-pb-ysl.net
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Overseas exhibitions
Coming soon
Yves Saint Laurent, visionnaire, ING Cultural Centre, Bruxelles, Belgium
from January 30 to May 5, 2013
Past exhibitions
Yves Saint Laurent retrospective, Denver Art Museum, USA, 2012
Yves Saint Laurent retrospectiva, Fondation MAPFRE, Madrid, Spain, 2011
Yves Saint Laurent et le Maroc, Villa des Arts, Fondation ONA, Casablanca, Morocco, 2011
Yves Saint Laurent et le Maroc, Jardin Majorelle, Marrakech, Morocco, 2010-2011
Rétrospective Yves Saint Laurent, Petit Palais, Paris, France, 2010
Viagens Extraordinarias, Centro Cultural de Brasil, Rio, Brasil, 2009
Yves Saint Laurent Style, de Young Museum, San Francisco, USA, 2008-2009
Yves Saint Laurent Style, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Montréal, Canada, 2008
Dialogo con el Arte, Fondation Caixa Galicia, La Coruña, Spain, 2008
Sponsorship
Festival d’Automne à Paris
Palais de Tokyo : Modules Fondation Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent
Musée du quai Branly
Nuit Blanche 2010
Amis de Jean Cocteau
Prix Jean Giono
Médiathèque Musicale Mahler
Institut Français de la Mode
Association Nationale pour le Développement des Arts de la Mode
5 avenue Marceau F-75116 Paris // Tél. +33 1 44 31 64 00 // www.fondation-pb-ysl.net
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