Sovjet-farvelade i Information


I denne uges bogtillæg til Information kan man læse min anmeldelse af den nys udsendte, nyfarvelagte udgave af Tintin i Sovjetunionen — den første historie om den unge reporter og hans hund, og den eneste i hvilken man ser ham skrive reportage! Jeg har altid synes at det album er undervurderet — det har en helt usædvanlig energi over sig, udført med overskud og er samtidig effektivt, grovkornet satirisk på den gode måde. Nyfarvelægningen er desværre totalt unødvendig og tjener kun til at dæmpe dynamikken i Hergés tegninger, der jo er udført med henblik på sort-hvid. Et tungnemt cash grab fra den belgiske forlægger Castermans side. Anyway, læs her (men: $$).

Lorenzo Lotto Portraits


For the past couple of years I’ve been working with Miguel Falomir, director of the Museo del Prado in Madrid, and Professor Enrico Maria dal Pozzolo of the University of Verona, to bring you this exquisite exhibition of one of the greatest portraitists of the Western tradition, Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1557). It gives me great pleasure finally to see it open in Madrid tomorrow, where it will remain till 30 September before travelling to London for a more concise showing between 5 November and 10 February. It includes a large, varied selection of his portraits as well as a number of objects of the kind he depicted with such care in them — jewellery, books, sculptures, clothing, carpets… — for what I hope will function as an extension of portraiture and our understanding of it into so-called material culture.

Lotto is one of the great idiosyncratic artists of the Renaissance, painting like nobody else. His religious paintings are full of energy, humour, and a striking down-to-earth pathos, as are his portraits which are amongst the most varied and empathetic of the period. Itinerant for most of his life, he found the greatest success in his early career in Treviso in the first decade and especially Bergamo in the second, though he continued to produce fascinating, personal work through his late, depressed years.

Rarely able to attract the kind of elite clientele that was available to his great contemporary Titian, he distinguished himself for posterity by painting mostly the emerging bourgeoisie, the demographic that would increasingly dominate European politics, economy and culture down to the present day. His portraits seem remarkably frank, warts-and-all without being ostentatious about it, and as mentioned deeply empathetic. His sitters always invariably appear interesting to us, as if the artist is bringing forward their unique qualities for us to contemplate, not just on their behalf but on the behalf of humanity.

Conceived by Miguel and consolidated by Enrico, who is one of the premier Lotto specialists working today, the exhibition is one to which I’ve contributed mostly as a junior partner, but I am proud of the results, also of my own labour on it. The Prado has produced the catalogue, which we hope will stand as a significant contribution to Lotto scholarship, as well as an easy to access introduction to his activities as a portraitist and the historical and social context within which he worked. I’ve contributed the entries on the portrait drawings and the National Gallery’s three Lotto portraits, among other things. Do seek it out if you’re interested, and most importantly go see the exhibition. Please note that the exhibition is significantly larger at the Prado, which is definitely the place to see it for completists and specialists, while it will be more select, but hopefully no less beautiful and poignant at the National Gallery.

Enjoy!

Leonardo i Information


I den forgangne weekends bogtillæg til Information har jeg skrevet en anmeldelse af Taschens nyudgivelse af kunsthistoriker Frank Zöllners monografi og oeuvrekatalog over Leonardo da Vincis malerier fra 2003. Den nye udgave udmærker sig ved et nyt forord, der giver en overflyvning af den bemærkelsesværdige udvikling, der er sket i Leonardo-forskningen siden da, først og fremmest med en grundig gennemgang af Verdens Dyreste Kunstværk (TM), Salvator Mundi (ovenfor), der som bekendt blev solgt på auktion sidste år for $450 millioner og efter sigende snart vil blive udstillet på det nyåbnede Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Grundlæggende er bogudgivelsen en opportunistisk, om end en som altid smukt illustreret, lappeløsning fra Taschens side, men den giver anledning til nogle overvejelser netop over hvor vi er i Leonardo-forskningen, samt nogle tanker om hvorfor Leonardo er verdens mest berømte kunstner. Læs bag paywallen her.

Picasso 1932 i Weekendavisen

Kvinde i rød lænestol, 1932, Paris, Musée Picasso


Ugen går på hæld, men jeg synes alligevel jeg lige ville gøre opmærksom på at seneste udgave af Weekendavisen indeholder min anmeldelse af den fantastiske Picasso-udstilling der lige nu kan ses på Tate Modern i London. Den er tilmed tilgængelig gratis på nettet her (farverne er helt i skoven, desværre). Læs, og se udstillingen hvis du kan!

Ovenfor har jeg reproduceret et af de billeder, jeg beskriver i detaljer og som redaktøren ikke kunne finde plads til. Supplement!

Fiesta i Informeren

Forside til Fiesta nr. 4 af Peter Kielland efter koncept af Mårdøn Smet


On a roll here! Denne gang i Informations bogtillæg er det tegneserieantologien Fiesta-Magasinet, redigeret af Mårdøn Smet, Peter Kielland og Johan F. Krarup, der tages under kritisk behandling af jeres egen. Hvem skulle have troet at et koncept og format, der hørte halvfemsernes undergrund til skulle gå hen og levere noget af det bedste i dansk tegneserie lige nu? Hop over paywallen og læs.

PS — mere om forsiden ovenfor på Peter Kiellands blog.

The Renaissance in Six Pictures

Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434


A bit late here with this, but still thought I’d post it: as part of the BBC Civilisations Festival, which is approaching the end of its run, I wrote this piece on the European Renaissance, in which I try to convey as sense of its meaning and significance through close looking at six pictures from the National Gallery’s collection (the Gallery is a partner in the festival). 200 words each. Not easy, especially considering that, whether you like it or not, any such endeavour will be made in the ghostly shade of Kenneth Clark, whose original 1969 documentary series is still at high watermark in television about art, ideological criticisms be damned. Oh yeah, this all is of course prompted by the current revival of the concept at the BBC with their Civilisations, which so far I’ve found more admirable than inspiring, but still well worth watching for the many insights and the passion of its three hosts and its occasionally inspired editing.

Nina Hemmingsson i Information


Så er jeg her igen. Endnu en tegneserieanmeldelse i Informations bogtillæg. Denne gang omhandler det Nina Hemmingssons Du vil ha’ mig, hendes danske debut her, godt et dusin år efter hun brændte igennem i Sverige. Jeg gør mig lidt tanker om hvorfor det har taget så lang tid, men bruger mere tid på at forsæge at indkredse hendes fandenivoldske humor. Læs her, men der er som sædvanlig paywall.