FROM LAUSANNE TO LILLE - QUITE A CONTRAST

No sooner back from Switzerland and  I was, off again. This trip had been scheduled since April as a retrospective of Bosch and Bruegel was programmed at the Beaux Arts in Lille in October. Who better to go with than Marielle? She never ceases to amaze me when we see such a collection (Madrid, Como, Rotterdam, Paris....) - her knowledge of  dates, where the pictures can be seen and the intricate detail in a Jerôme Bosch painting is amazing. Viewing art this way automatically means other details are seen. Of course Bosch is an excellent example. Born around 1450 and he died in 1516. This is the same period of Leonard Da Vinci (1452) but you certainly could not compare the two Masters. Their art is radically different. The 15/16 centuries are full of artists which we are now «following» (once more should I add?) at the Ecole du Louvre. Albrecht Dürer , Lucas Cranach, Copernic, Michel-Ange, Raphaël, Botticelli and of course, dozens more....some I know and most I don’t. Of course the Brueghel dynasty began in 1525. He was naturally influenced as so many artists were by Bosch. We saw the retrospective in Como (A Family Dynasty in Como - 27th August)

Then I learn that there is Paul Bril (1554-1626), Jan Wellens de Cock (around 1480-1527), Henri Bles (around 1500 and died around 1560) or Dick Bouts (around 1420-1475) and others... All names which were new to me. All followers of Bosch or certainly influenced by his work.

There are very few originals (Bosch) in existence today but there are certainly followers and the ateliers where students reproduced many of their own  «images»....This is what the exhibition was all about. 

Hans Memling 1480- Allegory to Chastety

Follower of Jerôme Bosch La Vision de  Tondal 16ème 

Joos de Momper (1564-1635) Allegory of autumn

and to winter ....

Peter Huys vers 1519 to 1581 La Tentation de Saint Antoine

Follower  J. Bosch 1516  Paradise

Hans Mel de Bles

Jan Mandyn and others Saint Christophe and the child Christ around 1540

So I learnt a lot. Looking at a picture with Marielle’s trained eye there were beasts I had not seen and monsters which jump to the eye and yet next to them, something pleasant comes up. 

One artist I did like and a discovery but I thought it was Joachim Patnir. However, when I studied Patnir’s work and this other painter, I knew it could not be the same master. The «unknown» was someone I really liked. Landscapes which seemed virtually modern.

Anonomous ?

Flemish painting was marked by an influence from the Italian Renaissance in the late 15th century of mostly religious subjects. Dutch and Flemish painters then began to paint more depictions of the natural world, which would be fully realized in the Baroque era, with painting from everyday life, landscapes and still life works. Their work would compliment the Golden Age of Dutch painting of the 16th century. 

The exhibition is called «Fables du Paysage Flamand» «Myths or Fables of Flemish Landscapes». There are over 100 paintings and many discoveries. Religious scenes are of course of prime importance. Saint Antoine seems to be «tempted» in every possible way. (see above)I guess those who could not read or write were terrified by monsters or such temptations. Hell did not look like a nice place to be. 

Pieter Brueghel Young and Old  - Landscape 1569? - We know this well!

Jan Brueghel - Jesus on the sea of  Galillee around 1596

Atelier Jerome Bosch 7 deady sins  1500 around

Simon de Meyle - Noahs Arch  around 1576

As we were at the exhibition at a reasonable hour, the crowds had not appeared. A quick break for lunch before the next stop. BABEL - of course this is related to the period we had just seen but what we saw now  was resolutely contemporary. Such artists call on this allegory often, explore it and use it today through videos, photos, installations and painting. Some photographs and installations are horrific and define the destruction in modern society. The eternal question. Can we build a higher tower ? Where are we going ?

Wolfe Von Lenkiewicz 2012 - Heaven is Made of Iron

The question I have often asked myself - why is Babel a spiral? Eternal rebirth? It dates from the Renaissance of course and in some philosophical text there is a mention of «the ascension is circular» going up to God’s door....but as biblical there is much more to it. Violence, death, pride...so God multiplied languages and enlarged communication. A totalitarian utopia which has left the place for exchange and diversified and intellectual cultures which are necessary for us to survive. This exhibition of some 85 works defines such a utopia in different ways and yet there is a lot of violence and destruction which is not easy to take. One thing can be said I guess is that Babel also calls for optimism and shows that there is still a confusion of languages and more and more people on the move which means we are reconstructing everything that breaks down - a symptom of our time.

Hilary Berseth 2009 Programmed hive

Charley Case birth and death of Babylone 1999

Add captionWim Delvoye Concrete mixer 2012

Wim Deloye - Tower 2008

Jacok Gautel - Tour of Babel - books 2006-2012

Jake and Dinos Chapman 2009 No Women No cry

Samuel Rousseau 1971 - Brave Old new World projection

Antoine Roegiers work was a breath of fresh air. Inspired from the 7 Deadly sins of Pieter Bruegel he presented each one as an animated video. Hybrid and fantastic creatures came to life in imaginary settings with repetitive movement and frankly a demoniac breeze made me smile and squirm. For the joy of it, go and have a look - http://www.antoineroegiers.com

Antoine Roegiers - The Seven Deadly sins" after Pieter Bruegel

We threw a cursory look at the permanent collection - but after a day spent in different centuries, I think we both felt pretty saturated.

It was not finished - we wandered through Lille and saw a few of the FANTASTIC installations. This was the third in a series of festivities given as exhibitions or installations throughout the town. I had taken a photo when we were on our way in the morning of a framework in the main street and was lucky enough in the evening to catch it when it «lit» up for a few moments. Dentelle stellaire or Stellar Lace by a François Schuiten.

Stellar Lace in the morning

And in the evening lit up

It was the programme which had caught my eye with this marvelous «creature» I knew and couldn’t place. 

All over town

Nick Cave probably means an Australian singer for many of you and yet as soon as I saw his «sound suits» at the exhibition the following morning, I remembered that I had seen him as a dancer as well. In one of these moving suits. They are crazy and yet quite beautiful. Nick is American and had designed the suit for the opening parade of Fantastic which from the reviews, was just that. Fantastic. 

This series of installations would have seemingly terrified many a child. We arrived the following morning as the doors opened and there were groups of children of perhaps 4 to 6 years? Marielle was a little worried that such quirky installations would mean a sleepless night for parents. I wasn’t too worried. Sure there were skeletons and odd mythical animals around but Nick Cave’s costumes and some of the videos probably erased the fear of a mythical «Whispering Chamber» by Marnie Weber. I must admit that I did find this a little macabre. 

Theo Mercie - A sad creature to greet us

Theo Mercier 2010 And an invisible family to follow us

And to taunt  us

And to daunt us

A Whispering chamber to haunt us (Marnie Weber)

Would you ride on "its back?

A dinner guest ?

Maybe not to ride....

Boo to you all

On the whole, I enjoyed these installations. They are certainly not art but perhaps I like them because of the childrens' reaction - the little ones and not so much the adolescent - eyes wide with surprise and enchantment and when they can, climbing over installations and jumping up and down. This is an age where most children are not aware of death or skeletons and mythical characters can be frightening I’m sure but with someone intelligent who can tell a fairy tale story, such creatures become friends. My brother used to frighten me as a ghost with a sheet over his head and then taught me to do the same thing...there was no fear any longer.

There was one more stop. The L.A.M The Lille Metropolitan Museum of modern art. At Villeneuve D’Ascq.

From Lausanne

The first poster I saw on arriving was - Aloise.....remember my reaction to her work in Lausanne? Dubuffet had collected a large number of such works but nobody to expose them in France. This is why he turned to the Beaulieu chateau in Lausanne. It’s thanks to three French artists, Madeliene Lommel, Claire Teller and Michel Nedjar who start the Aracine association and their first exhibiion in 1986 was a huge success. Later the collection joins that of the L.A.M. in 1999 which meant that the museum had to make extensions to their galleries to house it. It is now the first public collection of Art Brut. Well at least seeing it with Marielle will perhaps give me another point of view. 

The space is quite different from that in Lausanne and this time at least, there was a chance to admire some of the work or some of the sculptures without feeling the pressure of repetition. Despite this, I still could not appreciate Aloise even if there were only four or five of her works on display. There were sculptures though which I found admirable and a few paintings which were not, from my point of view, too oppressive.

Theo Wiessen corner of sculpture

A little nicer than in the Whispering chamber

The modern art collection is good with a room dedicated to cubism and others to Modigliani, surrealism and abstraction along with a room of Dubuffet’s work. Here too I felt as if a hammer had come down on my head. The room was too small to house all those paintings so after having taking a photo of one I like, I moved on fast. I wonder if this is why he was a collection of Art Brut? His own work in it’s abstract from can be pretty repetitive. 

Dubuffet

Modigliani  1918 - Roger Dutilleul - the first collector

Modigliani 1908

Picasso  Naked Mand 1908-9 - pre cubism

Picasso

In the Modigliani room :  Attributed to Paola Zacchia  1530-1540

Modigliani - Moise Kisling 1916

Fernand Leger Femme avec Bouquet 1924

Eugene Nestor de Kermadec  1932 - Femme au bolero

De Kermadec 1928

Add captionPicasso - Woman's head 1943

Gaston Chaissac - Forgotten woman 1960

Gaston Chiassac - personnage 1947

Annette Mesager 2003

The contemporary art is well spaced and the map of France (2000) by Annette Messanger is always fun to look at. Marielle pointed out to me that Corsica is always badly placed on a French map and especially here - it should be much further away from the mainland coast - touching Italy. Of course I thought - I had crossed over to Sardinia from Bastia and it seemed a stones throw away.

Picasso in the garden

The last temporary exhibition was called «La Ville Magique»  - the Magic City. This I would think was in relation to the exhibition on Babel - the fascination of Manhattan, towers, films which were made in the early part of the 20th century witnessing the attraction of New York or Berlin. There is no reference to our cities today but photos and films along with some paintings were magic and ended our two day visit to Lille and surroundings with a resounding and joyous bang.