La National Gallery s'agrandit avec Kengo Kuma
The National Gallery in London has commissioned renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma to lead a significant expansion and redesign project. The initiative aims to modernize the museum's infrastructure and create more fluid, accessible spaces for its world-class collection of European paintings.
Les vernissages cette semaine dans les galeries parisiennes
The Paris gallery scene is experiencing a surge of new activity this week with several high-profile openings across the city's major art districts. Highlights include Rosson Crow’s vibrant, chaotic landscapes at Galerie Nathalie Obadia, the inauguration of Galerie Sator’s new Marais space with sculptures by Kokou Ferdinand Makouvia, and a curated dialogue between historical avant-gardes and contemporary abstraction at Galerie Le Minotaure. Additionally, Gagosian is showcasing late works by Francis Bacon, while Esther Schipper presents the first Paris solo exhibition for Sojourner Truth Parsons.
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.
Beaux Arts Magazine highlights six must-visit museums in Venice, including the Palazzo Ducale, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and the Pinault Collection venues Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana. The article notes that during the Biennale, the city is filled with free pavilions, but the main museums have high entry fees, offset by passes like the Venice Museum Pass (€59) and Venice City Pass (€119). It also mentions a current Marina Abramović exhibition at the Gallerie dell'Accademia, marking her as the first living female artist honored there.
La recette d’art d’Alain Passard : les sublimes « Nymphéas » de Monet s’invitent dans l’assiette
Chef Alain Passard shares a recipe inspired by Claude Monet's "Nymphéas" (Water Lilies) series, connecting the painter's obsessive depictions of his Giverny water garden to a spring consommé decorated with flower petals. The article recounts Monet's move to Giverny in 1883, his creation of a water garden, and his decades-long focus on painting the pond's surface, light, and reflections—culminating in the immersive panoramic panels gifted to France in 1918 and now housed at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris.
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.
The article explores an exhibition at the Grand Trianon in Versailles dedicated to the English garden, a style that emerged in 18th-century Europe as a deliberate contrast to the rigid symmetry of the formal French garden. Curator Élisabeth Maisonnier and museum director Laurent Salomé explain how these gardens, with their winding paths, irregular flowerbeds, and surprise features like grottoes and pagodas, were carefully constructed to imitate and amplify nature's complexity, drawing on influences from antiquity, the Middle Ages, and China.
French artist Annette Messager, 82, welcomes Beaux Arts Magazine into her Malakoff studio and home ahead of her exhibition at the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris. The studio is a chaotic, poetic bric-à-brac filled with hybrid creatures, stuffed toys, anatomical objects, and textile works, including her iconic piece "Les Piques" (1992–1993). Messager, who won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2005, discusses her playful yet serious approach to art, describing artists as "mad, like children" who play constantly, sometimes very seriously. Her upcoming shows include presentations at Centre Pompidou Málaga, Galería Albarrán Bourdais in Madrid, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, and the Kunsthalle Prague.
Le meilleur et le pire des stars au Met Gala 2026 inspiré par l’histoire de l’art
On May 4, 2026, the Met Gala brought together 450 guests at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York under the theme "Fashion is Art," tied to the exhibition "Costume Art." Attendees were asked to draw inspiration from specific artworks, resulting in standout looks: Madonna channeled Leonora Carrington's "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" (1945) in a Saint Laurent gown, Kim Kardashian wore a custom piece by Allen Jones extending his "Cover Story 4/4" (2021), Hunter Schafer embodied Gustav Klimt's portrait "Mäda Primavesi" (1912-1913) in Prada, and Tessa Thompson referenced Yves Klein's "Anthropométries" in Valentino. Gracie Abrams also paid homage to Klimt's "The Kiss."
The Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris is hosting the first retrospective in France of Giovanni Segantini (1858–1899), a major but little-known figure of Symbolism. The exhibition traces his career through the lens of his geographical ascent into the Alps, from his early success with "Ave Maria à la traversée" (1886–1888) to his final triptych "La Vie, La Nature, La Mort," which he was working on when he died at age 41. Segantini's divisionist technique, which Vassily Kandinsky considered a precursor to abstraction, is highlighted as a means of expressing a dematerialized vision of the world.
Les mondes invisibles d’Hilma af Klint, pionnière de l’abstraction, enfin révélés au Grand Palais
The article reveals the long-overlooked story of Hilma af Klint (1862–1944), the Swedish artist who created abstract paintings years before Kandinsky, Mondrian, and Malevich, yet kept her work secret until 20 years after her death. Her monumental output—1,600 abstract paintings and 124 notebooks—was first publicly shown in 1986 at the Los Angeles exhibition 'The Spiritual in Art, Abstract Painting, 1890–1985'. A 2019 retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York drew 600,000 visitors, a museum record. Now, the Grand Palais in Paris presents the first-ever French exhibition of her work, focusing on her 'Paintings for the Temple' cycle (1906–1915), a series of 193 works that synthesize her spiritual quest.
Des plages de Valence aux jardins andalous, le virtuose Joaquín Sorolla célébré par une exposition lumineuse à Toulouse
The article announces a luminous exhibition in Toulouse celebrating the Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla (1863–1923), known for his radiant beach scenes and masterful use of light. Co-curated by Ana Debenedetti of the Bemberg collection and Enrique Varela Agüí, director of the Museo Sorolla in Madrid, the show features iconic works such as *Contre-jour, Maria à Biarritz* (1906) and *Sur le sable, plage de Zarautz* (1910), alongside a reconstruction of Sorolla’s studio. The exhibition highlights his unique style blending realism, impressionism, and luminism, with energetic brushwork, bold compositions, and photographic framing.
Nuit des musées, Photomobiles… 10 idées de sorties à faire au mois de mai
Beaux Arts Magazine presents a curated list of ten cultural outings across France for May 2026, highlighting events such as the Nouveau Printemps festival in Toulouse directed by Rossy de Palma, the Interstice festival in Caen focusing on emerging art and technology, the L'art est dans le pré festival in Troyes featuring contemporary art in rural villages, an immersive installation at the Musée d'Orsay tied to the Renoir exhibition, and the Cœurs-Volants kite festival in Essonne where architecture students create flying artworks. Other suggestions include outdoor art trails, heritage site sports programs, and literary festivals in Épinal and Seine-Maritime.
Georg Baselitz, one of Germany's most significant post-war artists, has died at age 88. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938, he grew up in Nazi-era Saxony and later rejected his father's ideology, fleeing to West Berlin in 1957. Known for his provocative, expressionist works and signature upside-down paintings, Baselitz challenged artistic conventions with brutalist techniques—attacking wood with chainsaws and axes—and created scandalous pieces like "Die große Nacht im Eimer" (1962–1963), which was banned from exhibition. His career included major retrospectives at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2011) and Centre Pompidou (2021), and commissions for the Reichstag.
Quels musées sont gratuits ce 1er dimanche du mois à Paris et en Île-de-France ?
This article from Beaux Arts Magazine lists museums in Paris and Île-de-France that offer free admission on the first Sunday of each month, including the Musée de l'Orangerie, Musée national Picasso-Paris, Musée des Arts et Métiers, Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, Musée Carnavalet, Musée Cognacq-Jay, Crypte archéologique de l'île de la Cité, Maison Victor Hugo, and Musée de Cluny. It also notes that municipal museums in Paris are free year-round, and provides practical tips such as booking online and taking advantage of free entry for visitors under 18 or 26.
Martin Schongauer en 2 minutes
Martin Schongauer (c. 1445–1491), the Alsatian painter, draftsman, and engraver, is celebrated as the greatest German copperplate engraver before Albrecht Dürer and one of the first artists to achieve pan-European fame in his lifetime. The article outlines his life and career, from his early training in his father's goldsmith workshop in Colmar to his studies at the University of Leipzig and travels through Flanders, where he absorbed the influence of Rogier van der Weyden and Dirk Bouts. It highlights his 116 copper engravings, signed with the monogram 'M+S', which elevated engraving to a high art and circulated from Spain to Bohemia, inspiring Dürer and the young Michelangelo. Key works discussed include the painting 'La Vierge au buisson de roses' (1473) and the engraving 'La Tentation de saint Antoine' (c. 1470–1475).
L’art aborigène déploie ses couleurs et ses messages codés dans une grande expo à Lodève
A major exhibition of Aboriginal art has opened at the Musée de Lodève in France, featuring over one hundred works primarily from the collection of Alison and Peter Klein. The show presents paintings, painted totems, and trunks, showcasing the rich colors, hypnotic dot painting techniques, and coded symbolism characteristic of this art form.
Quelles sont les œuvres d’art englouties à bord du Titanic ?
The RMS Titanic, which sank in 1912, was carrying over 300 paintings, drawings, prints, and art objects according to its cargo manifest. The most famous artwork lost was the 1814 neoclassical painting 'La Circassienne au bain' by French artist Merry-Joseph Blondel, owned by Swedish businessman Mauritz Håkan Björnström-Steffansson, which was insured for $100,000. Also lost was the legendary 'Grand Omar,' a jewel-encrusted luxury edition of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, created by the London bindery Sangorski & Sutcliffe.
Tout ce qu’il faut savoir sur Henri Matisse, star du Grand Palais ce printemps
The Grand Palais in Paris is hosting a major retrospective focusing on the final masterpieces of Henri Matisse, the pioneer of Fauvism. The exhibition highlights the artist's late-career reinvention between 1941 and 1954, featuring his innovative gouache cut-outs, illustrated books, and stained glass designs created while he was bedridden in Nice.
À Genève, la renversante leçon d’histoire de l’art de John M Armleder
The Musée d’Art et d’Histoire (MAH) in Geneva has unveiled its sixth "carte blanche" exhibition, curated by the influential Swiss artist John M Armleder. Following in the footsteps of figures like Ugo Rondinone and Wim Delvoye, Armleder was invited by museum director Marc-Olivier Wahler to mine the institution's vast collection of 800,000 objects. The resulting show defies traditional museum hierarchies by juxtaposing fine art with decorative objects, such as silver-topped corks and musical instruments, alongside Armleder's own prolific output of multiples.
L’histoire vraie du faussaire de César actuellement dans une série documentaire sur Canal+
The French documentary series on Canal+ explores the life of Éric Piedoie Le Tiec, a prolific art forger who flooded the market with thousands of fake works. Based in the French Riviera, Le Tiec specialized in creating pieces "in the style of" modern masters like Raoul Dufy and César Baldaccini. Following César's death in 1998, Le Tiec partnered with Jean-Charles Villa to mass-produce fake "compressions" using industrial car crushers, exploiting the artist's rising market value and lack of a definitive catalogue raisonné.
Près de Paris, ce mythique restaurant nous transporte dans un chef-d’œuvre de Renoir
The historic Maison Fournaise in Chatou, a legendary riverside restaurant and inn near Paris, has been meticulously restored to its 19th-century glory. Once a central hub for the Impressionist movement, the site served as the specific setting for Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s 1881 masterpiece, "Luncheon of the Boating Party." The restoration, led by the Ludéric group and featuring a menu by Michelin-starred chef Christian Le Squer, coincides with major Renoir exhibitions at the Musée d’Orsay.
« Guernica » déchire l’Espagne : Madrid refuse le prêt du tableau de Picasso au Pays basque
The Spanish government and the Reina Sofía Museum have rejected a request from the Basque regional government to loan Pablo Picasso’s masterpiece, "Guernica," to the Guggenheim Bilbao. The proposed loan was intended to mark the 90th anniversary of the 1937 bombing of the town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. While Madrid cites the painting's extreme physical fragility as the reason for the refusal, the decision has sparked a heated political row, exacerbated by derogatory comments from Madrid’s regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso.
Au cœur du Marais à Paris, le Centre culturel suisse rouvre (enfin) ses portes
The Centre Culturel Suisse (CCS) in Paris is set to reopen on March 26, 2026, following a four-year renovation of its Marais district headquarters. The architectural overhaul, led by firms ASBR and Truwant+Rodet+, features modernized modular galleries, a redesigned bookstore, and a new courtyard café. The relaunch will be celebrated with a three-day festival featuring performances by choreographer Edouard Hue and music from the Bongo Joe Records label.
La « Tavolo con ruote » de Gae Aulenti : une icône radicale comme sur des roulettes
Gae Aulenti’s 1980 'Tavolo con ruote' (Table with wheels) remains a definitive icon of postmodern design, characterized by its radical simplicity. Created during Aulenti's tenure as artistic director of FontanaArte, the piece features a thick glass slab bolted to four industrial trolley wheels, a concept inspired by the factory carts used to transport glass. The table's enduring popularity is highlighted by its recent corporate history, as FontanaArte was acquired by Nemo Lighting in 2024 and subsequently integrated into the Spanish group Kettal in early 2026.
Sur Arte, « Le Tableau volé » plonge dans les salles de ventes aux enchères à travers la redécouverte d’un Egon Schiele spolié par les nazis
Director Pascal Bonitzer’s film 'Le Tableau volé' (The Stolen Painting) dramatizes the real-life 2005 discovery of a lost Egon Schiele masterpiece, 'Autumn Sun,' in the modest home of a factory worker in Mulhouse. The narrative follows a cynical auctioneer, played by Alex Lutz, as he navigates the authentication and eventual sale of the work, which was looted by the Nazis from Jewish collector Karl Grünwald during World War II.
Auguste Renoir en 2 minutes
Pierre-Auguste Renoir remains a cornerstone of Impressionism, celebrated for his transition from porcelain painting to becoming a master of figure and light. While he initially pioneered plein air techniques alongside Claude Monet, Renoir eventually pivoted toward a more classical study of 18th-century masters, focusing on portraits, domestic scenes, and nudes. His career was marked by iconic works like 'Bal du moulin de la Galette' and a persistent drive to paint even as severe rheumatism physically debilitated him in his final years at Cagnes-sur-Mer.
N’allez plus au musée avec des enfants sans ces 10 astuces !
Beaux Arts Magazine offers ten practical tips for making museum visits with children more enjoyable and less stressful. The advice, provided by Marion Charneau of the Louvre-Lens, includes practical preparation like checking hours and packing snacks, as well as strategic approaches such as keeping visits short, choosing morning hours, and turning the experience into a game with visual challenges.
Giverny avant les nymphéas : un Monet méconnu et intime se dévoile au musée des Impressionnismes
The Musée des Impressionnismes in Giverny is presenting an exhibition focused on Claude Monet's first seven years in the village, a period before he created his famous water lily pond. The show, assembled for the centenary of his death, features lesser-known works from private collections and small museums, revealing a Monet grappling with financial instability, family scandal, and artistic doubt as he transitioned to stability and fame.
50 artistes femmes que vous devriez absolument connaître
Beaux Arts Magazine is publishing a multi-part series throughout March highlighting 50 historically significant but often overlooked women artists. The series profiles figures like Impressionist painter Marie Bracquemond, whose career was curtailed by her husband, pioneering Spanish photographer Mey Rahola, and Brazilian modernist Tarsila do Amaral, who will be the subject of a major exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg in 2024.