News

Ideally located near the Opéra and Montmartre, in the chic 8th arrondissement, the Ouest Hotel enjoys a privileged setting and is perfectly situated for exploring the exhibitions currently being presented at the Grand Palais and scheduled to run until early 2016. Pictorial art is honoured with the exhibition Picasso Mania and a retrospective of Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, the prominent royal portrait painter; a first in this Parisian monument on the Champs-Elysées.

Picasso Mania, an audacious exhibition in homage to the master of cubism

From October 7th, 2015 to February 29th, 2016, the Picasso Mania exhibition pays tribute to the Catalan painter, as well as the artists who have been influenced by him, through one hundred masterpieces, some unknown to the general public even today. It brings together pieces from the collections of the Musée National Picasso-Paris, the National Museum of Modern Art and the artist’s own family. Celebrated in his lifetime, the great master of contemporary art, with his brilliant visual and conceptual innovations and larger than life personality, has become a legend. Controversial, loved, hated…the artist’s work cannot be ignored. Walking through the exhibition, visitors can discover the Demoiselles d'Avignon, Guernica, The Kiss, the Self Portrait from his blue period...

This landmark exhibition of the season also shows how many international artists were influenced by the Master. Alongside the iconic works of Picasso are exhibited other paintings by great artists such as Roy Lichtenstein (Woman with flowered hat), Jasper Johns, David Hockney (Sill-Life Blue Guitar), Paul McCarthy (Dick Eye), Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons and Jean-Michel Basquiat, to name just a few. You can certainly see the Picasso inspiration in the ‘Heads’ series by Andy Warhol in the 80s, or ‘Les Quatre Saisons’ by Jean-Michel Basquiat. Through the works of his disciples it’s possible to discover the artist’s different periods.

In addition to the paintings, this thought-provoking exhibition also presents various Picasso-related items in different media, including TV and movie work by Godard and Louis Malle, extracts from interviews and even car commercials for Citroën, offering a mix of genres that is fun, original and illuminating. Designed with its own distinctive logic, the exhibition is bold, yet informative, and should not be missed.

Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun; a new look at the favourite portraitist of Marie Antoinette

From September 23rd, 2015 until January 11th, 2016, the Grand Palais presents a retrospective of the work of Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, one of the great portraitists. A feminist ahead of her time, with a talent greater than that of her male peers, and a fervent royalist, she became the official court painter to Queen Marie Antoinette.

This exhibition is the first French retrospective to be devoted to this often overlooked artist and brings together over 150 works, some of which have never before been shown to the public. On loan from private collectors and prestigious institutions such as the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Metropolitan Museum of New York, the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, these works present a complete artistic evolution against the backdrop of a dramatic period of European history.

Lebrun, Self-portrait par Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun - Description in Art Renewal Center - Old image from humanitiesweb.org. Sous licence Domaine public via Wikimedia Commons

These portraits of the nobility of the time, as well as her self-portraits, show a delicate and meticulous style reminiscent of the great masters while maintaining the originality of a very personal touch. The visitor will have the pleasure of discovering various Marie Antoinette portraits, self-portraits, La Fête des Bergers à Unspunnen and the Portrait of Countess Anna Stroganova and her son.

******

Grand Palais
3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris
Metro : lines 1, 9, 13 / Stations : Franklin-D.-Roosevelt, Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau
RER : lines C / Stations : Invalides
Bus : lines 28, 42, 52, 63, 72, 73, 80, 83, 93

~oOo~

Picture Grand Palais copyright holder: Tourist Office Paris - Photographer Daniel Thierry

 

---

 

L'Ouest Hotel, an elegant 3-star hotel at Paris Saint-Lazare