Le Réveil (The Awakening) 1877 Kunsthalle, Bremen Eva Gonzalès's painting of a young woman awakening evokes an intimate, sensual atmosphere- not voyeuristic. It is one of her many portraits of her younger sister Jeanne. In recent times, Eva Gonzalès has been too much in the shadow of Manet, her mentor. This exhibition puts her in the spotlight; it is the fullest show of Gonzales's works since the retrospective of 1885, two years after her death aged only 36. One of the star works in the exhibition is the scene at the theatre where a young woman is focusing on the stage in front of her, while the man's gaze is elsewhere: Une loge aux Italiens (A box at the Italiens) ca 1878 Musée d'Orsay The above picture, portraying her sister Jeanne and Eva's future husband Henri Guérard, was refused at the 1874 Salon, because it was judged to be too much by the hand of Manet. Five years later it was accepted. Sadly Eva's career as an artist was short, since she died soon...
Michelangelo and Rodin were both sculptors who pushed the boundaries of their art, although four centuries separated them. The exhibition at the Louvre brings them together in a powerful dialogue. Both wanted to represent the truth of life and emotion even if it meant distorting their figures: Rodin's figure of Adam, in bronze, and Michelangelo's Rebel Slave, marble Michelangelo's expressive style was later called 'Mannerist', or 'la bella maniera' as it was called at the Renaissance and much imitated. His contorted, straining figure of the Rebel Slave is a permanent fixture in the Louvre, since 1794: Michelangelo: The Rebel Slave 1513-15 marble Louvre Its companion piece in the Louvre is the Dying or Sleeping slave, once destined for the tomb of pope Julius II: Michelangelo: The Sleeping, or Dying slave, 1513-5 The statues are now back in place in the Denon wing of the Louvre. Both Degas and Cezanne sketched the slaves of Michelangelo in the Louvre. Here...