We are not big fans of contemporary art, and we had just visited the Pompidou in 2019, but when we heard it was holding a special exhibition on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Georges Roualt's birth, we had to go. Roualt is special for us because of a self-portrait he did in his younger years, a poster of which has been in the family from before the time we were married in 1968. It is something Vicki acquired because it somehow reminded her of me, then. The Pompidou has most of the Roualts in the world, but every time we've visited in the past 20 years, the painting in question has been elsewhere or in storage. But this time, for the 150th anniversary exhibition, it was out, front and center.
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| Standing in the first Sunday line |
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| Thus |
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| Notre Dame in repair; they hope to have it ready for visitors in 2024, if not completely finished |
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| One view from the terrace of the Pompidou: the Bourse Commerce, La Defense, Les Halles, Saint-Eustache... |
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| Montmartre |
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| It's a self-portrait that goes by several names, Head of a Young Man, The Apprentice Worker |
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| We knew little about Roualt before this exhibit...largely, his style, which reminds some, with the heavy black lines, of stained glass; in fact he worked in glass before becoming a painter; above, Exodux, April, 1945, one of several concerning refugees following the world wars |
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| He was a highly moralist artist, focusing on social injustice, war, the status of women; these are a few of his Miserere series: scores of engravings, accompanied by short narratives by the artist, all depicting the sufferings incurred throughout society in WWI |
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| Passion, 1929-45; the Passion |
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| The horrors of WWI drove Roualt to many anti- war works; this is his sole response to WWII, the quote from Hobbes, "man is a wolf to man" |
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| Girls and Factory, 1931 |
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| The Wounded Clown, 1932; a metaphor for humanity |
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| The Sainte Face, 1933 |
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| Pleased with our success, but moving right along...Frantisek Kupka, Plans par Couleurs, 1910-1911; described as a "post-Cubist fantasy," "a milestone on the road to abstraction," also something I really liked |
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| Wilhelm Wagenfeld, Art de la Table Kubus, 1938; these are glass storage containers for the fridge; Vicki astutely notes the 17 piece set lacked two lids, clearly the sign that they were done by a male designer who had never consulted with anyone who had actually used a refrigerator; anyhow, when you're next at the flea market or Goodwill, be on the look-out for these, as they're valuable enough to be in one of the world's great museums... |
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| Obligatory Jack the Dripper; possibly upside- down or side-ways; Number 26A, Black and White, 1948 |
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| Vuja de: Yves Klein, IKB 3 Monochrome Bleu, 1960; last seen at the Tate Modern |
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| Cy Twombley's immortal Thermopylae, 1992; at this, we left, having had well enough of "modern" art; but grateful for the opportunity to see our Roualt |
