From Brueghel to Chanel, why the extraordinary bird of paradise turns all heads

De Brueghel à Chanel, pourquoi l’extraordinaire oiseau de paradis fait tourner toutes les têtes

The article explores the extraordinary bird of paradise, from its biology and courtship rituals to its cultural significance in Papua New Guinea and its impact on European art and fashion. It opens with the exhibition "Plumes du paradis" at the musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, which immerses visitors in the deep, spiritual relationship between Papuan clans and these birds, where skins are exchanged as symbols of alliance and status. The narrative then traces the bird's arrival in Europe in 1522, where it sparked a centuries-long myth of legless celestial creatures, and its subsequent adoption as a motif by Golden Age painters like Brueghel, Rubens, and Rembrandt, who used its feathers to denote prestige and exoticism.

La banane de Cattelan volée au Centre Pompidou-Metz, le musée porte plainte

On Saturday, May 30, around 2 p.m., Maurizio Cattelan's *Comedian*—a banana duct-taped to a wall—was stolen from the Centre Pompidou-Metz, where it was on view in the exhibition "Dimanche sans fin. Maurizio Cattelan et la collection du Centre Pompidou." A security guard noticed the fruit had been removed from its piece of tape, leaving an empty peel behind. The museum filed a police complaint, condemning the act as a violation of respect for artworks. The banana, a perishable item regularly replaced, was swapped out hours later at minimal cost; the institution noted that the work's value lies in its certificate of authenticity and presentation protocol, not the fruit itself.

Leandro Erlich at the Grand Palais: 'This era marked by the ambiguity between truth and fiction resonates with a search I have always intuitively pursued'

Leandro Erlich au Grand Palais : « Cette époque marquée par l’ambiguïté entre vérité et fiction rejoint une recherche que j’ai toujours menée intuitivement »

Leandro Erlich presents his first major retrospective in France at the Grand Palais in Paris. The exhibition, developed over nearly a decade, features large immersive installations alongside nearly 40 architectural models that trace his practice from 1993 to the present. Erlich describes the project as a natural culmination of long-term planning and a personal connection to Paris, where he lived from 2001 to 2006 and participated in the landmark group show "Notre Histoire…" at the Palais de Tokyo. The show was conceived in close dialogue with Fabrice Bousteau, director of editorial content at Beaux Arts Magazine, and the physical space of the Grand Palais itself.

Camille at the Palais de Tokyo: "Sophie Calle saw me pregnant, breastfeeding, and becoming a mother. I wanted to invite her on this adventure."

Camille au Palais de Tokyo : « Sophie Calle m’a vue enceinte, allaiter et devenir maman. J’ai eu envie de l’inviter dans cette aventure »

French singer Camille presents the first chapter of her new album "The Sound of Milk" at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, where it plays continuously in the 37dB listening room through June 1. The 29-track triptych explores her experience of motherhood, with the album cover designed by her longtime friend, conceptual artist Sophie Calle. Camille, who recently won Oscars, Golden Globes, and César awards for the soundtrack of "Emilia Pérez" (composed with partner Clément Ducol), describes the project as her most intimate work, inviting the public into the creative process of raising both songs and children.

The 10 Best Art History Websites to Pass Your Exams

Les 10 meilleurs sites d’histoire de l’art pour réussir ses examens

Beaux Arts Magazine has published a guide for French high school and university students preparing for art history and visual arts exams in the 2025–2026 academic year. The article features advice from two experts: Claire Maingon, a lecturer in contemporary art history at the University of Rouen, and Marie-Élise Ho-Van-Ba, a high school visual arts teacher. They recommend a variety of online resources, including museum websites, the BnF photography site, the Centre Pompidou YouTube channel, the Arte series "Atelier A" and "Pionniers, pionnières," Radio France podcasts, and the educational platform "L'Histoire par l'image." The experts emphasize mastering course material, creating traditional study cards, and understanding spatial and temporal context, technique, and formal analysis of artworks.

Au musée d’Orsay, les douces rêveries de Youssef Nabil face aux orientalistes

Youssef Nabil, an Egyptian artist born in 1972, has been invited to present his first solo exhibition by a living artist at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Titled "De rêver encore," the show runs from May 19 to September 13, 2026, and pairs Nabil's hand-colored black-and-white photographs and videos with the museum's Orientalist paintings from the 19th century. Nabil's work, which he began developing in the 1990s, uses a manual colorization technique inherited from mid-20th-century Egyptian photo studios, creating dreamlike, velvety tones. The exhibition traces an intimate journey through themes of childhood, exile, and fantasy, with Nabil's images—such as "Memory of a Happy Place" (2021) and "I Will Go To Paradise, Self-Portrait, Hyères" (2008)—dialoguing with works by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Odilon Redon, Alphonse Osbert, Étienne Dinet, and Eugène Fromentin.

In Venice, the Punta della Dogana tells the striking trajectory of activist artist Paulo Nazareth

À Venise, la Punta della Dogana raconte la trajectoire saisissante de l’artiste activiste Paulo Nazareth

Brazilian artist Paulo Nazareth (b. 1977) has mounted a major exhibition at the Punta della Dogana in Venice, working remotely to honor his pledge not to set foot in Europe until he has walked through all 54 African countries. The show includes a striking new installation: a line of salt tracing the shape of a slave ship (tumbeiro) on the first floor, evoking the hundreds of enslaved people who died in such vessels. Other works range from embroidered dishcloths and spontaneous photographic self-portraits to cardboard signs and resin-encased packaging critiquing racist marketing, alongside fragile handmade boat models that echo refugee crossings. The exhibition, titled "Algebra," was curated by Fernanda Brenner and runs through 2026.

The 10 summer festivals in Paris and Île-de-France that will make temperatures rise from June

Les 10 festivals de l’été à Paris et en Île-de-France qui vont faire grimper les températures dès juin

Beaux Arts Magazine lists ten summer festivals in Paris and Île-de-France running from June to August 2026, including the debut of the Art & Environment festival by Art of Change 21 (May 26–June 6), the multidisciplinary Paris l'été festival (July 11–31), the documentary food festival EATFILM (June 11–14), and the Anticipation festival at the Gaîté Lyrique (June 18–21). These events span art, environmental activism, cinema, dance, and performance, taking place at iconic venues such as the Louvre, Grand Palais, Palais de Tokyo, and the Jardin des Traverses.

For the 9th edition of Printemps Asiatique Paris, K-art in the spotlight

Pour la 9e édition du Printemps Asiatique Paris, le K-art à l’honneur

The 9th edition of Printemps Asiatique Paris, running from June 3 to 12, 2026, places Korean art (K-art) at center stage, celebrating Franco-Korean friendship. The event moves from its previous location to the refined spaces of Galerie Charpentier and includes a "Parcours galeries" route featuring around twenty Parisian galleries. Participating galleries include Louis & Sack with Lee Hyun Joung's memorial landscapes, Magna Gallery with Hoon Moreau's oak sculptures, and Françoise Livinec with works by Bang Hai Ja. Other highlights include Jean-François Cazeau gallery showing major Asian artists like Zao Wou-Ki, Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, and Yayoi Kusama; Mingei gallery presenting Japanese bamboo basketry from the 8th century to today; Sinapango gallery with lacquer objects including a Ming-dynasty erotic incense box; and Jacques Barrère gallery with a large Goryeo-dynasty bodhisattva sculpture. The Musée national des Arts asiatiques – Guimet mounts complementary exhibitions on Silla civilization treasures and K-beauty.

On Île Seguin, the new art center Large unveils its spectacular building and a first exhibition focused on Renault's history

Sur l’île Seguin, le nouveau centre d’art Large dévoile son bâtiment spectaculaire et une première expo tournée vers l’histoire de Renault

On Île Seguin, the new contemporary art center Large unveiled its spectacular building designed by Catalan firm RCR Arquitectes during a press preview on May 21. The center, backed by real estate developer Emerige and its president Laurent Dumas, will open to the public on October 17. Its inaugural exhibition, curated by Cecilia Alemani, explores the history of the automobile and the island's industrial past as the site of Renault factories from 1929 to 1992, featuring works by 55 contemporary artists including Julio Le Parc, Nina Beier, Thomas Bayrle, Mohamed El Khatib, and Giulia Andreani.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera at MoMA in New York in a Passionate Theatrical Dialogue

Frida Kahlo et Diego Rivera au MoMA de New York dans un dialogue théâtral plein d’ardeur

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has opened a theatrical exhibition titled "Frida and Diego: The Last Dream," curated by Beverly Adams, the museum's curator of Latin American art. The show features around twenty paintings and drawings by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from MoMA's collection, alongside photographic portraits. The exhibition's dramatic staging, designed by British set designer Jon Bausor—who also worked on the Metropolitan Opera's concurrent production of "El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego"—creates a tense dialogue between the artists' contrasting styles: Rivera's political murals and Kahlo's intimate, colorful self-portraits. Highlights include Kahlo's "Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair" (1940) and Rivera's "Zapata, Agricultural Leader" (1931).

In Basel, a Dive into the Great Bath of Colors of Helen Frankenthaler

À Bâle, plongée dans le grand bain de couleurs d’Helen Frankenthaler

The Kunstmuseum Basel has opened a major retrospective of American painter Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011), a key figure in Color Field painting who is less known in Europe than her contemporaries Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. The exhibition was sparked by a 2024 donation of Frankenthaler's 1963 painting "Riverhead" from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, and features around fifty works showcasing her signature soak-stain technique, in which she applied thinned paint to unprimed canvas using sponges, brooms, and scrapers. The show traces her career chronologically, highlighting influences from Old Masters and her physical approach to painting on the floor.

À New York, le Metropolitan Museum of Art absorbe la Neue Galerie et sa collection de Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka…

On May 14, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Neue Galerie in New York announced a historic merger set for 2028. The Neue Galerie, founded in 2001 by billionaire Ronald Lauder in a Fifth Avenue mansion, will become part of the Met under the name The Met Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie, modeled after the Met's Cloisters. The transfer includes the historic building and a collection of 600 works valued at over $1.5 billion, featuring artists such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Ludwig Kirchner, Max Beckmann, and Oskar Kokoschka. Lauder and his daughter Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer are also donating thirteen works from their personal collection, and a $200 million endowment fund has been established.

The Delicate Bouquet of Roses and Peonies by Redouté and Thilo Westermann at Malmaison

Le délicat bouquet de roses et de pivoines de Redouté et de Thilo Westermann à Malmaison

An exhibition titled "Roses & Pivoines" has opened at the Château de Bois-Préau in Malmaison, France, pairing the 19th-century botanical watercolors of Pierre-Joseph Redouté with contemporary glass-painting works by German artist Thilo Westermann. Redouté, famous for his meticulous rose and peony illustrations commissioned by Empress Joséphine Bonaparte, is shown alongside Westermann's pointillist technique on glass, which he developed from 2014 onward. The show also includes works by Jan-Frans van Dael and Cornelis van Spaendonck, plus scent stations for visitors to smell rose essences.

New Art Center and Hidden Gems: A Weekend Full of Surprises in Bruges

Nouveau centre d’art et pépites cachées : un week-end plein de surprises à Bruges

Bruges, the Flemish city known for its medieval charm and UNESCO World Heritage status, has inaugurated a new art center called BRUSK in spring 2026. Located in the museum district, the building designed by Robbrecht en Daem and Olivier Salens features a monumental 350-square-meter fresco by French artist Laure Prouvost titled "The Whispering Walls Rêve," which references the city's past and present. The center also includes a conservation and research facility, with free access to the ground floor. The article proposes a weekend itinerary starting at the Grand-Place (Markt) and highlights Bruges as a hub for contemporary creation alongside its historic treasures.

At the Louvre Museum, ORLAN will give a free art history lecture this Friday

Au musée du Louvre, ORLAN donnera ce vendredi un cours d’histoire de l’art (gratuit)

French artist ORLAN will deliver a free art history lecture at the Musée du Louvre on Friday, May 22, 2026, as part of the fourth edition of the museum's "Leçons d'artiste" lecture series. Titled "Le musée et l'histoire de l'art cellules souches de nos nouvelles images," the talk will examine how museums like the Louvre shape art history—with its omissions, censures, and rewritings—and how new technologies, including artificial intelligence, feed on existing imagery. Two additional lectures will follow on June 12 (on body representation) and September 25 (on artists' responsibility in times of war and oppression).

What will the future Louvre museum look like? The architects of the century's construction site have been chosen

À quoi ressemblera le futur musée du Louvre ? Les architectes du chantier du siècle désignés

On May 18, the French Ministry of Culture announced the winner of the international competition for the 'Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance' plan, championed by President Emmanuel Macron in January 2025. The winning consortium, led by Studios Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects with landscape firm Base, will design a major renovation of the Louvre. The project includes a new entrance on the east side near Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois to relieve congestion at the pyramid, a belvedere overlooking vegetated moats, and a new 3,000-square-meter gallery dedicated to the Mona Lisa. Construction is not expected to begin before 2028.

Sheila Hicks en 2 minutes

Sheila Hicks, the American textile artist born in 1934, is profiled in a concise overview of her career. The article traces her journey from studying under Josef Albers at Yale and learning weaving from Andean artisans in Chile, to establishing her studio in Mexico and later Paris. It highlights her monumental commissions for hotels, embassies, and public spaces, as well as her intimate "Minimes" works. Key milestones include her 2014 piece "Pillar of Inquiry/Supple Column" at the Whitney Biennial, her 2017 installation at the Venice Biennale, and a major retrospective at the Centre Pompidou in 2018.

Photographs of Victorine Meurent who posed for 'Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe' discovered by chance in Grenoble

Les photos de Victorine Meurent qui ont servi de modèle au « Déjeuner sur l’herbe » retrouvées par hasard à Grenoble

A chance discovery at the Musée de Grenoble has unearthed two previously unknown photographs of Victorine Meurent, the favorite model of Édouard Manet, taken by Gaudenzio Marconi in 1863. Art historian Laure Boyer, while researching a different subject, recognized Meurent in the images and realized they directly served as studies for Manet's iconic paintings *Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe* and *Olympia*. The photographs show Meurent in poses nearly identical to the figures in both works, with only the orientation reversed in one case and facial expressions swapped between the two paintings.

An Invitation into Joan Miró’s Imagination

The article invites readers into the imaginative world of Joan Miró, the Catalan painter, by recounting his successful 1941 retrospective at MoMA and his 1945 exhibition with dealer Pierre Matisse. It highlights Miró's first visit to the United States in 1947 and his inclusion in the New American Paintings show at MoMA in 1991, with a charming anecdote from MoMA conservator Jean Volkmer about Miró blowing kisses at the artworks. The piece also notes an upcoming exhibition at The Phillips Collection from March 21 to July 5, 2026.

NEXT in the Gallery: June in Pittsburgh is packed with more art than you could possibly imagine

NEXTpittsburgh's June gallery guide highlights a packed month of art events in Pittsburgh, centered on the 67th annual Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's new Arts Landing from June 5-7 and 11-14. The festival features over 300 artists and artisans, installations, performances including Squonk Opera's 'Joy Machine' and Bandaloop's vertical dance, and a Juried Visual Art Exhibition at 820 Gallery. Other major shows include 'French Moderns: Matisse / Renoir / Degas' at the Frick Pittsburgh Museums & Gardens (June 20-Oct. 11) and 'Sharif Bey: Homecoming' at the Andy Warhol Museum (June 26-Oct. 12), with an opening reception on June 26.

France reckons with Nazi-looted art in a new Paris museum gallery

The Musée d'Orsay in Paris has opened a new permanent gallery dedicated to displaying Nazi-looted artworks that were never reclaimed by their rightful owners. These works, part of France's MNR (Musées Nationaux Récupération) collection of over 2,200 orphaned pieces, were recovered from Germany and Austria after WWII but have remained unclaimed for decades. The gallery is the first in the museum's history to focus on these works, and it displays them so visitors can see the backs, which bear stamps and labels tracing their path from private Jewish homes into Nazi hands.

Robert Rauschenberg once exhibited in KL - now revisited in a new show at Ilham Gallery

Ilham Gallery in Kuala Lumpur will present "Robert Rauschenberg And Asia" from June 16 to November 1, a comprehensive survey of the legendary American artist's creative explorations across Asia. Organized by Hong Kong's M+ museum in collaboration with Ilham Gallery, the exhibition features over 40 works produced between 1964 and 1990, including pieces from his Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI) program. The ROCI series notably included a landmark 1990 exhibition at the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur, making Rauschenberg the first Western contemporary artist to stage a major solo show in Malaysia.

Jack White on his first art exhibition: 'You have to get your ego out of the way'

Musician Jack White is holding his first-ever art exhibition, titled 'These Thoughts May Disappear,' at Damien Hirst's Newport Street Gallery in London. The show features over 100 works, including sculptures and mixed-media pieces, many of which reflect White's lifelong practice of repurposing found objects—a skill he traces back to his teenage years as an upholsterer in Detroit. White, best known as the frontman of The White Stripes and founder of Third Man Records, describes the exhibition as a chance to reveal a lesser-known side of his creative output, born from a passionate, ego-free place.

Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art: Online - Christie's

Christie's is presenting an online sale titled "Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art: Online" from June 2–16, 2026, in London. The auction features 62 lots by leading modern and contemporary artists from the Gulf, the Levant, Iraq, Iran, and North Africa, including works by Samia Halaby, Saliba Douaihy, Baya, Parviz Tanavoli, Mohamed Melehi, and Abdul Halim Radwi. The sale marks 20 years since Christie's inaugural Middle Eastern art auction in the UAE in 2006.

Tate Britain opens Europe’s largest James McNeill Whistler retrospective in 30 years

Tate Britain has opened the largest European retrospective of James McNeill Whistler in over 30 years, featuring 150 works across painting, drawing, printmaking, and design. The exhibition traces Whistler's career from his student days at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St Petersburg and West Point to his bohemian years in Paris and London, highlighting his pioneering nocturnes, the iconic *Arrangement in Black and Grey: Portrait of the Painter’s Mother* (known as *Whistler’s Mother*), and rarely seen sketchbooks. It reunites a familial triptych of portraits and assembles the largest-ever collection of his nocturnes, exploring his radical approach to composition and color.

Palette of flowers: Nada Al Barazi hosts ‘Gardens’ solo exhibition at Intent Gallery

Internationally acclaimed artist Nada Al Barazi presented her solo exhibition 'Gardens' at Intent Gallery in Dubai from May 9 to 13. The show featured a contemplative body of work exploring nature as an emotional and introspective experience, with layered textures, expressive color, and organic forms that invite viewers to reflect on memory, transformation, and renewal. Al Barazi, a holder of the UAE Golden Visa from Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, is recognized for her contributions to contemporary art in the Emirates and globally.

Facing Modernity: Degas to Picasso to open at Shepparton Art Museum

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) in Victoria, Australia, will host the exhibition "Facing Modernity: Degas to Picasso" from 23 May to 20 September 2026. The show features 37 paintings and sculptures from Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, including works by masters such as Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Salvador Dalí. Many of these works are part of a major philanthropic gift from New York-based collectors Julian and Josie Robertson, donated to the Auckland gallery in 2023, and have never before been shown in Australia.

Explore 6 World Cup-inspired exhibits coming to Kansas City museums

Kansas City museums are launching six soccer-themed and World Cup-inspired exhibitions ahead of the world's largest soccer tournament arriving in the city this summer. Highlights include “The Beautiful Game” at the National World War I Museum and Memorial, which explores soccer's role during World War I; “The World in Kansas City” at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, featuring works by over 16 local international artists; “United We Play: Kicking It With The Trumans” at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum, celebrating sports unity through artifacts from Kansas City teams; and “Homeland: The Osage in Missouri” at The Museum of Kansas City, tracing Osage Nation history.

A new, monochromatic perspective on Alexander Calder at SAM

The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) has opened "Monochrome: Calder and Tara Donovan," a new exhibition in its Calder at SAM series that pairs two matte-black Alexander Calder sculptures with works by Brooklyn-based artist Tara Donovan. Curated by Donovan alongside SAM curator Catharina Manchanda, the show uses black as its sole color to highlight materials, texture, and form. Highlights include Calder's 1949 mobile "Jacaranda" and 1976 maquette "Mountains (1:5 intermediate maquette)," juxtaposed with Donovan's sculptures made from industrial materials like plastic stir sticks, slinkys, tar paper, and mylar. The exhibition runs through January 17, 2027.