Reconciliation. Rome, Henri IV and France 1589-1610 Musée National du Château de Pau 18 JULY - 18 OCTOBER 2020 The political and artistic relations between Rome and Henry IV, the Protestant mon- arch excommunicated by Sixtus V but who then converted to Catholicism in 1593, were characterised by intense diplomacy with the Holy See and marked by the com- missioning of major works. This reconcilia- tion was celebrated by an abundance of political and partisan literature, with as its point of departure the renewed confidence between the Pope and the Most Christian King beyond differences of faith and the bitterness accumulated during the trou- bles. Basing themselves on an important iconographic tradition in the Roman milieu, artists treated the subject in various stylis- tic and interpretative terms, echoing the many nuances that animated the aesthetic landscape of Baroque Rome in the early 17th century. A significant place was given to graph- ic works (rare books, prints and manu- scripts) and sculpture, in a path enriched with a choice of gold objects, medals and hardstone.
Colour and Ink. Marc Chagall and art reviews Musée National Marc Chagall, Nice 10 OCTOBER 2020 11 JANUARY 2021 Throughout his life, Marc Chagall maintained a close relationship with the world of writing. From Yiddish manuscripts to book illustrations, his body of work grew with every word, cadenced by narration and the printed page, giving rise to a host of editorial partnerships. These included such famous illustrated books as The Dead Souls by Nicolas Gogol and Fables by Jean de la Fontaine or The Bible as well as numerous features in art reviews. While this editorial genre may be less familiar to the general public, it developed significantly in the 20th century. A reflection of the intellectual and creative eruption of the avant-garde artists, these art reviews were run by publishers or merchants and were the main channel through which artistic innovations were disseminated. They went on to become hotbeds of creativity and dialogue in their own right, a melting pot of text and image. After an initial appearance in Apollo in Saint-Petersburg in 1910, Chagall worked on Der Sturm in Berlin, the Yiddish avant-garde re- views Khaliastra and Shtrom, then the French reviews Les Feuilles Libres or Cahiers d Art. In the United States, he wrote in VVV the review of exiled surrealists, before the great post-war adventures that were Verve and Derrière le Miroir. Chagall made a significant contribution to the visual and intellectual identity of these publica- tions through the works and texts he provided to them, It was to this powerful interactive link that the exhibition intended to pay tribute, combining the original works of Chagall with the reviews associated with them
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