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"Cézanne et Moi."  L- Guillaume Canet as Emile Zola, R-Guillaume Gallienne as Cézanne The French film, "Cézanne and I" or "Cézanne et Moi," is excellent, but will be of most interest to those who know the story of Cézanne's lifelong friendship with Émile Zola. Guillaume Gallienne, an actor of the Comédie Francaise gives an outstanding performance which zeroes in on his character as well as possible. As Émile Zola, Guillaume Canet is also very believable. The film direction and production tells the story extremely well, but also captures the colors and aesthetics well enough to make the viewer feel to almost be there. A studio that Cezanne kept within the Bibemus Quarry Cézanne was the very first artist who really interested me--probably because of his colors.  The most influential 20th century artist, Picasso, said he owed everything to Cézanne.  Matisse claimed "he's kind of a god of painting." His popularity is similar to that of Van Go...

Maxfield Parrish, Daybreak , 1922 An Object of Beauty , is a surprising novel by a man of many talents, Steve Martin.  Last year, in the Spring, I had seen a musical by him in New York and was then surprised to get this book as a Mother's Day present. Not only is it an original novel, but it shows that Steve Martin is a gifted interpreter of both art and the art world.  The novel exposes the mystique and glamor of the art world, together with its sleaze. To be honest, valuing art primarily for its monetary or investment value really offends me.  I briefly worked in the 80s at the art gallery considered one of Chicago's leading contemporary galleries at the time.  It was surprising to go from a show of DeKooning's latest works (painted with mayonnaise) to one of photographs of Racquel Welch (by an important photographer).  Although these exhibitions generated a ton of publicity, they actually sold very little -- just one DeKooning and none of the Racquel Welch ph...

The Artisan Moderne. 1896, Lautrec was asked to advertise a jeweler/home goods designer He manages to add some of his own thoughts and observations about human nature.  This is the last weekend of Phillips Collection's exhibition, Toulouse-Lautrec Illustrates the 'Belle Epoque.'   The Phillips organized the show with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, its only other venue North America. This exhibition is different and distinguished from other exhibitions of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (and I've seen a few of them), because it's primarily graphic art and contains some works that we don't normally see. There are trial proofs alongside the finished prints, and a few very rare prints. The entire show comes from one private collector in France and we're very lucky to have it for a short time in Washington.  Mademoiselle Eglantine's Troupe, 1895- 1896  Brush, spatter and crayon lithograph in three colors.  The dance troup included Jane Avril, seen below Toulouse...

Detail of " Olympia " by Edouard Manet, 1863, in Musée d'Orsay Victorine Meurent is Manet’s most frequent model of his early career.  She shocked audiences as the indifferent courtesan in Olympia (above), exhibited in the Paris Salon of 1864.   A year earlier, Victorine had scandalized Parisians, playing the part of a shameless woman who disrobed during a midday picnic. That was her role in Manet's rev olutionary p ainting, Le d éj e uner sur l ' herbe ( The Luncheon on the Grass-- see on bottom) exhibit ed at the Salon des Refusées for the officially rejected paintings of that year.   She is just the matter-of-fact figur e that Manet wanted, and there is nothing beautiful, sexual or erotic in either image. In both paintings, she is not an individual but the object, the sexual object. Manet also painted Victorine as Young Lady ( also c alled Woman with a Parrot ), in 1866. She looks taller in her long pink gown. There's a magnificent unpeeled ...