SHARING WITH ME

Saturday afternoon, Nicky and I went off to «La Maison Rouge» - you may remember I went to see the Neon art «Red Yellow and Blue» in February. It’s a small friendly museum although after a couple of hours of Louis Soutter, I came out feeling as if a hammer had hit me hard on the head. The articles and what I had seen of Soutter’s work reminded me vaguely of Penck and even Debuffet.  Penck Head of a Man on a Sqaure background 35-42 Soutte His work is not really well known here in France and often described as belonging to the «Art Brut» movement or «outsider art». The earlier years are not so original but it is when he goes into an asylum (1923) for old people in Ballaigues in Switzerland and starts drawing or painting with his fingers then he becomes better known. Having little or no money now himself, he uses anything he can find to paint on. Envelopes, paper, packaging.....school books of which there are many containing his designs. Most of these are shown as individual p

Marielle and I went to see «Misia-The Queen of Paris» at the Orsay on Friday. What had intrigued me about this figure is her apparent beauty and yet the poster which advertised the exhibition was certainly not as flattering considering she was supposed to be so beautiful.  Félix Valloton - At her dressing table Had Félix Vallotton done her justice? Born in 1872 in Saint Petersburg, she was an accomplished pianist at an early age although played for her own pleasure, or for her friends.  Toulouse Lautrec La Revue Blanche I’m not sure when the family comes to France but maybe her first husband Thadée Natanson (1868-1951), a Polish lawyer, businessman and journalist, founder of the Revue blanche and her cousin by marriage, introduced her into the artistic and intellectual circle which became her life.   Misia becomes friendly with the artists and contributors of the Revue blanche : Pierre Bonnard, Édouard Vuillard, Félix Vallotton, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Romain Coolu