Art alert: Paul GAUGHIN comes to town
03 December 2014 By Magellan
Paul Gauguin Rupe Rupe, 1899 Fruit gathering Oil on canvas, Moscow, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts
Advance notice: Basel’s Fondation Beyeler is planning yet another spectacular exhibition for 2015 - opening 8th February until 28th June 2015. Its most ambitious exhibition since the gallery was opened, the Paul Gaughin exhibition has been six years in the planning and will feature the artist’s self-portraits and spiritual images from Brittany as well as his world-famous paintings created in Tahiti.
Paul Gauguin Autoportrait à la palette, ca. 1893 Self-Portrait with Palette Oil on canvas, Private collection
In addition to paintings, the exhibition includes a selection of Gauguin’s rare, enigmatic sculptures that evoke the art of the South Seas that had by then already largely vanished. As there is no one art museum in the world dedicated to Paul Gauguin’s work, the precious artworks have been loaned by galleries and private collections from 13 countries: Switzerland, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Great Britain (England and Scotland), Denmark, Hungary, Norway, the Czech Republic, Russia, the Unites States and Canada.
Paul Gauguin Arearea, 1892 Joyousness Oil on canvas, Paris, Musée d’Orsay © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski
Gauguin’s remarkable creations tell of his quest for a lost paradise on earth, of his dramatic history as an artist who moved between different cultures during a life marked by passion and adventure. Once a sailor in the merchant navy who travelled the world following his childhood in Peru and a stockbroker in late 19th century Paris, he became a friend and supporter to the Impressionists. Becoming a member of the artists’ commune in Pont-Aven in Brittany, as well as - most famously - Van Gogh’s housemate in Arles, Gaughin’s unquenchable yearning for an island of the blessed finally took him to Tahiti. In essence, Gauguin became one of the first modern nomads and art’s first dropout critical of civilisation, endowing his work with a new kind of sensuousness, exoticism, naturalness and freedom.
Paul Gauguin La vision après le sermon ou La lutte de Jacob avec l’ange, 1888 Vision of the Sermon or Jacob Wrestling with the Angel Oil on canvas, Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh
For a timeline on the life of Paul Gauguin click here.
Fondation Beyeler, built by Renzo Piano Photo: Mark Niedermann
Basel offers over 40 museums - each with their own speciality. Apart from the Tinguely Museum, art-loving visitors will also be able to view Cézanne to Richter at the Museum für Gegenwartskunst (providing a new setting for masterpieces from Kunstmuseum Basel) from 14th February 2015 and at the Vitra Design Museum - just across the German border - there’s a fascinating exhibition about contemporary design in Africa with “Making Africa” from 14th March 2015.
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For further information on Fondation Beyeler contact Elena DelCarlo. Follow on Twitter @Fond_Beyeler and Facebook -Fondation Beyeler. Fondation Beyeler opening hours: 10 am - 6 pm daily, Wednesdays until 8 pm. Entrance: (adults) 29.80 CHF - around GBP20.
Contributor: Alexandra Pinhon
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