Paula Modersohn-Becker: When Life Imitates Art

The name Paula Modersohn-Becker may not say much to you outside of Germany, but at 30 years old she was the first woman to paint herself in the nude, in Self-Portrait at Sixth Wedding Anniversary. Here, one quarter turned with her face flushed, she exposes two small, perky breasts crowned by an amber necklace, one […]

A Room with a View: Gustave Caillebotte’s Paintings

I dwell in Possibility – A fairer House than Prose – More numerous of Windows – Superior – for Doors – Emily Dickinson It’s been a long year of repeated lockdowns and painfully drawn-out hours, when the only escape is looking out the window — anything to gain a break from the day and stop […]

Claude Monet – Pont de l’Europe, Gare Saint-Lazare (1877)

When Georges-Eugène Haussmann, also known as Baron Haussmann, was assigned by Napoleon III to do a makeover of Paris in the mid-19th century, he was met with fierce opposition by the public. The expropriations en masse, the demolitions of entire neighborhoods and the tearing down of the Medieval, insalubrious, narrow streets, disrupted the daily lives […]

Alfredo Ramos Martínez – Juanita Amongst the Flowers

As a young Mexican artist, Alfredo Ramos Martínez had spent almost a decade in Paris at the turn of the 20th century, bathing in the light of Impressionism and being hypnotized by the vibrancy of Van Gogh’s and Gauguin’s works. While he never joined the French avant-garde circles, his stay in Paris turned fortuitous when […]

Tsuguharu Foujita – Self-Portrait (1936)

As a Japanese artist arriving in Paris in 1913, Tsuguharu Foujita quickly befriended and got acquainted with all the great painters, including Modigliani and Picasso, as well with socialites and celebrities like Josephine Baker. The Japanese embodied the exoticism that Europeans were longing for and he was quick to profit from it. With his bowl […]

Emiliano Di Cavalcanti – Woman with a Bird (1961)

A pioneer of Brazilian modernism, Emiliano Di Cavalcanti’s ideal had always been to capture the essence of his country without the influence of European art. It was, foremost, an issue of national pride, magnified by the fact that Latin Americans everywhere were searching for their own voice. This conviction was certainly strengthened by his years […]

Edgar Degas – The Ballet Class (1871 – 1874)

Compared to the other Impressionists, Edgar Degas was more of a traditionalist. The Frenchman didn’t paint en plein air, his color palette was subdued for much of his career and his spontaneity was painstakingly rehearsed. With a fascination for human anatomy reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci, he would do countless studies for one single painting. […]

Maurice Utrillo – Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre, and the rue Saint-Rustique (1937)

At the turn of the 20th century, artists were flocking in droves to Montmartre, the bohemian district of Paris where the rents were cheap, the wine was overflowing and the paintbrushes never dried. Some gave up their countries to reach this artistic Mecca, including Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani and Piet Mondrian. Montmartre, with its iconic […]

Henri de Toulouse – Lautrec – At the Moulin Rouge, The Dance (1890)

Oh, the parties they must have had at the Moulin Rouge on New Year’s Eve! Or on any night, for that matter. A place where the socialites, the intellectuals and artists could mingle, celebrating life with dance, alcohol and joie de vivre. Built in 1889, the famous Parisian cabaret was fortunate to find a great […]

Othon Friesz – The Seine at Paris, Pont de Grenelle (1901)

A lifelong friend of painter Raoul Dufy, Othon Friesz (1879 – 1949) was a French artist best known for his work during the first half of his career when he embraced post-impressionism and, briefly, fauvism. He was born in Le Havre, but after moving to Paris at the end of the 19th century to continue his […]