Oreste by Pierre-Charles Simart

Pierre-Charles Simart was a French sculptor, born in Troyes on 27 June 1806.
Many of his art pieces are located in Troyes, and Paris. For today's post, I will show you his Oreste.

A few extracts from his biography:
Pierre-Charles' father was a carpenter, and his father sent him very early (at 6 years old) to follow drawing classes. While helping his father between 13 and 16 yo, he sculpts inside the family house.

La main d'Oreste - photo by Michèle Fleury

At the age of 17, he got a monthly scholarship from his native town, to pursue sculpture classes in Paris.

At the age of 27, he already won the first Grand Prix de Rome, with the bas-relief  in plaster 'Le Vieillard et les enfants'.
Regarding 'our' Oreste, one is in marble, visible at the Art museum of Rouen (France).
 

Oreste réfugié à l’autel de Pallas

   There is also a similar sculpture in bronze, located Place St Nizier in Troyes (France).

Photo by Jacques.

This sculpture, and the myth, also inpired the French artists Pierre & Gilles. Their Oreste art piece, photograph below, was part of the exhibition entitled 'Heroes' organized by the Gallery Templon in Paris in 2014.
 

 

Other works from Pierre-Charles Simart include 'decors' for the Paris townhall such as 'Architecture' and 'Sculpture'. Last but not least, he sculpted during 6 years the tumb of Napoléon 1st in Paris' Invalides, including not only the famous statue itself, but also the 19 allegoric bas-reliefs.

He was an elected member of the Academie des Beaux-Arts in 1852.

He 'stupidly' died in Paris on 27 May 1857, reportedly falling from a public bus.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Jacques Schweitzer website about the fabulous city of Troyes

The weight of Oneself - Elmgreen & Dragset

What a great sculpture, and wonderful title!
It shows at first glance a very classic medium, marble, and a traditional scene or subject, with apparently a nude hero, but it is not so classic, and it is not a hero in the old meaning!

Photo Carlos Martin

Elmgreen & Dragset said that they 'use the language of classical sculpture in order to play with it'. During an interview, the artists explained : 'Many details will contribute to making our sculpture contemporary: the subject, the idea that this sculpture is evocative of the notion of looking after oneself, in different ways. The material used, as well as its scale will make it also very contemporary. The fact that it isn’t a sculpture on a human scale will emphasize its depth.'
Indeed they used powder marble, which is solidified. And the size or height is out of ordinary, with 2m70.

Photo Dufy

Regarding the sculpture title, they added that 'it will be representative of our contemporary culture. The work will not be celebrating a hero, nor someone pursuing a goal, or attempting to accomplish something. This will be the story of someone who is trying to save himself.'.

Photo Jacques Leone

Himself ? Yes, because if you look closely, you will see that the two faces (the one from the man standing, and the one from the dead man are the same. Spectators can wonder the various possible meanings of it. Souvenirs ? Mythology ? Philosophy ? Own responsibility ? Justice ?  Well, the sculpture is located just in front of the Palais de Justice !

Photo Terry Cooper

The two artists who created this sculpture are working together since 20 years, in Berlin, Germany, but one, Michael Elmgreen, was born in 1961 in Copenhagen (Denmark), and the other, Ingar Dragset, was born in 1968 in Trondheim (Norway).

Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset by Henridraw

They often display their pieces in public space. In this case, the sculpture is almost on the water, facing the Palais de Justice in Lyon, and this location may not be a coincidence.

Photo Jan Bucholtz

Sources and more information:
Wikipedia 
Arttube video interview
Interview (written)

Video (the weight of Oneself)

Carrara marble, and the courageous 'cavatori'

Many of the beautiful marble statues, like the David from Michelangelo, were created, and sculpted, with white marble of Italy, and from specific quarries like the one in Carrara.

The short (18 minutes) black and white movie below is an impressive story of the daily life of the courageous men who went up to extract these blocs of marble. Imagine life 50 years ago.... that was the date of the movie (1958) and then what it could have been 400 or 500 years ago.

No translation needed, the pictures & video speak by themselves!

FENICE FILM presenta I CAVATORI (1958)
Un Documentario di Francesco Tarabella girato il pellicola 16mm Ferrania
Primo Premio Assoluto - Festival internazionale Cinematografico MONTECATINI
da una poesia di Lorenzo Tarabella


The two, as impressive, videos below show the contrasted modern technology and transport applied today at the same quarry.

Male art & gay art collector's interview 2 - Paul

Today's interview is from Paul S., from Atlanta, USA, who is telling us in his very own words some personal stories.

Q.1 Could you tell us why you appreciate male art ? 

In 1945, when I was six years old, my father came back from WWII  where he had been a surgeon for three years in the US Army in North Africa and Italy. He had brought back for me a beautifully bound red leather book “ THE WONDERS OF ITALY”.

I was utterly beguiled by the book. My father loved Italy and particularly Florence. He would spend time with me showing me the photos of the paintings and sculpture that were in Florence. I was attracted particularly to the photos of Michelangelo’s DAVID ( much more than Donatello’s!.) and Masaccio’s THE EXPULSION OF ADAM AND EVE.

Michel Angelo's David - Firenze, Italy. Photo by Serge Briez.

I think I remember taking the book to show and tell at school. It would be very amusing  to hear  a recording of what I said when I showed the book to my classmates.

In my early years of adolescence, I knew I liked ‘messing’ around with my friends on campouts etc. but that soon ended and I was of the generation where it was impossible to think of being gay. I hid my interest in men by looking at art books and enjoying the males in heterosexual pornography. Art classes at Princeton afforded me the opportunity to enjoy all the nude male paintings and sculpture of the artist of Greece, Rome, the Renaissance and paintings of the nude male as well as sculpture down to the present day.

In 1959, I went to France and Italy. I was in heaven from the Rodin museum in Paris to the Academia in Florence as well as the church with the Masaccio paintings. I started buying art books at this point not paintings, drawings or sculpture. In 1961, I was finally exposed to Greek Erotic drawings. Unfortunately you couldn’t buy the books in the USA then.

Q.2 Among the art pieces you purchased, could you describe one or two ?

I was married and then divorced in 2006. I essentially was living separately from 1998 on and I then started buying distinctly homoerotic art. My major source then was the Adonis Art Gallery in London. A very good friend of mine in France, Jean-Louis Mennesson lives at the Chateau Outrelaise in Normandy. He is a photographer and had beautiful photos of past lovers etc. He is also a very good friend of a French artist Bernadette Kelly whose major theme is the male nude body. I bought some of her drawings and a painting of a swimming scene with the male body in seven positions at a pool from swimming to diving to observing. Her models were dancers from the Paris ballet.

Bernadette Kelly - Le bain - Oil painting

Q.3 Is there a male art piece that gave you a strong feeling or emotion ?

I visited Villa Rainbow and saw the sculptures of J-Christophe and was immediately attracted to his work and I am pleased to say I have one of his sculptures.
J-Christophe introduced me to the late Patrick Poivre de la Freta. Before Patrick's death I purchased a painting and then from his estate some of his drawings. From my visits to Villa Rainbow, I have been inspired to commission for my bathroom a mosaic of a male nude that is my shower.
Sadly, I am unable to spend a vast amount but I enjoy very much and take pleasure in what I have acquired.
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Thank you very much Paul!

Some links:

Château d'Outrelaise website
Patrick Poivre de la Freta in this blog

Adam... by Tullio Lombardo : a stunning restoration project

Today's technology can do miracles to repair broken art pieces, like what happened to the Italian Renaissance masterpiece 'Adam' from Tullio Lombardo, in 2002. Indeed the wood base of the sculpture broke one night, and the sculpture exploded in 28 large pieces together with hundreds of smaller ones. It took 12 years to restore this life-size marble sculpture.

Tullio Lombardo (1455-1532) sculpted this Adam, with his father and brother, as part of the Venetian Doge Andrea Verdamin's tomb, around 1490. The Lombardo family was famous and sculpted several chrches and tombs.

A new sculpture gallery was created to unveil the restoration result, and to display other Venetian and Northern Italy sculptures.                             

Various videos (see below) show us the complex techniques used by the Metropolitan Museum experts to master that restoration project, and the time-lapse video is impressive!

Other sources:
www.metmuseum.org
thecultureconcept.com

Male art & gay art collector's interview 1 - Ivan & Florent

This Summer, you will discover some portraits in the form of short interviews (10 questions) of male art collectors. We will start with Ivan & Florent, young gay couple living in Bordeaux, fabulous port city in the South West of France.

If you would like to share your experiences in collecting male art, feel free to contact us!

Q.1 Could you tell us why you appreciate male art, and if you have a preferred medium ?

I&F : We appreciate that art because of the male nudity, his expressed strength, and sensuality, and also his ambiguity. Sculpture is the medium that represents the best these criteria, both on a tactile and visual point of view. Photography and painting are also two interesting media to express or transmit all these sensations.

Q.2 Among the art pieces you purchased, could you describe one or two ?

I&F : A sculpture in bronze, representing two men, lying on a bed, huddling together, one in peace, the other one protective. And last acquisition : a stunning bronze table, showing three naked men, back to back, with busts leaning forward, and their feet behind, as if walking.

Q.3 Do these pieces have a link, or similarity ?

I&F : They both represent the male strength, his masculinity, but also his fragility.

Q.4  Which is your favourite ?

I&F : A bronze sculpture acquired in St Martin, that we are now fixing on a frame, and that will remind us unique moments.

Q.5 What were the elements that triggered your acquisition ?

I&F : We both had a common crush on it, and we always function that way for art.

Q.6 Is there a male art piece that gave you a very strong feeling or emotion ?

I&F : Yes, a painting, a nude man giving the baton relay to another nude man. Because it shows the continuity of life towards the infinity, and also the transmission.

Q.7 Is there an artist who made a deep impression, or left his mark on you ?

I&F : The only artist we met is J-Chris in St Martin. He impressed us with his passion, and his way to look at male art.

Q.8 Is is (still) difficult to display male art in your home ?

I&F : We do not give the choice. People do like us because who we are. They need to appreciate us also inside our home! The art pieces present in our home represent us, and give even better hints about our personality. Today, male art is not linked anymore to the 'obscene'.  Like female art, it is getting closer and closer from a full acceptance of gender.

Q.9 What would be a piece of male art you would love to see ?

I&F : We would love to acquire a very 'rough' piece, not polished, not structured, who could leave lots of space to ambiguity and allowing each of us a full imagination.

Q.10 What are the ways you use to be aware of male art various expressions ?

I&F : Mainly the web, and some magazines.

Thank you Ivan & Florent!

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If you would like to share your experiences in collecting male art, feel free to contact us! 

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Philippe Farault

Philippe Farault masters human anatomy. And teaches it, or more precisely teaches portrait sculpture.
His technical ability in portraiture in clay is amazing, as he can quickly transform a face through all periods of life, or with some changes go from one ethnic group to the next one.

La Nuit des Temps - Bronze - 2003

La Nuit des Temps

He is passionate about sharing his research and techniques to his students, through his master classes in Europe and in the USA. Philippe also won awards in stone sculpture, and did several monumental pieces in marble.

Here are some other examples of male portraits from his hundreds of sculptures. They are usually in water-based clay, but Philippe also likes marble.

 

If portrait sculpture is of interest to you, check the links below as Philippe has created a large set of books, dvds, even tools for portraiture in clay.
His Facebook page
His website

Christophe Charbonnel

To start this month of June 2015, I am very pleased to present to you the French sculptor Christophe Charbonnel, from which you can still see several very large pieces currently exposed until the end of the month in various places (such as the townhall) of the French town of Compiègne, not too far from Paris.

Le Parisien - extrait photo Jean-Luc Grandvallet

You may like his many ways to express the male body, through faces, usually, or in full body size, sometimes by far larger and taller than that!

Le Messager or Stratège - Bronze - 2014

'David' - 2012

Christophe Charbonnel is now aged 48. After some years with the Walt Disney studios in France, drawing then modelling, he started to sculpt under the guidance of the French sculptor Philippe Seené, and did his first bronze in 1992, before to display his work since 1998, mostly in Paris, but also in other French cities like Cannes, St Tropez, and in Belgium.

Persée II, 2011

Large compagnies have been attracted by his impressive pieces, or group of warriors for example.

Warrior's group- 2009

Veilleur Monumental (Watchman) - 2013

Major hotels like the Ritz in Paris, or Four Seasons in Cannes, have also acquired some of his master pieces. Christophe Charbonnel was a laureate of the Taylor Foundation in 2010.

The Bayart art gallery is the sculptor's agent, in exclusivity. On their website, you can see the numerous pictures of his sculptures, and you can also order the various catalogues available about his work.

Some other links:
Christophe Charbonnel artist website
Interesting interview (in French) from the Bayart gallery founder.
Italian blog mentioning him.
Gay Cultes, the elegant and classy French gay blog who mentioned Christophe Charbonnel

The african male by sculptor James Richmond Barthé

Another example of African-American artist who expressed some homo eroticism at least in some part of his work is James Richmond Barthé.

He was certainly not openly gay (born in 1909), but when he arrived in Harlem aged 20, he soon got several gay friends, who persuaded him to express gay love or male beauty in his art. which he did for 10 years. Indeed he sculpted several African-American men, nude, or in sensual attitudes.
But expressing it, may have been an obstacle at that time to pursue a great career as artist.

 

Below are some extracts of his interesting biography published in Advocate.

''Barthé was born to Creole parents in Bay St. Louis, Miss., and his art brought him out of poverty. A beautiful, bright boy, he was already winning awards for his drawings by the age of 12. Inspired by the neoclassical art he saw in the homes of the wealthy folks he worked for as a houseboy in New Orleans, he developed a lifelong interest in Greek and Roman mythology.''

''Funded by his local church, he attended school at the Art Institute of Chicago and began to have adult affairs with men who sometimes became patrons. He also had a brief affair with author and actor Richard Bruce Nugent, who was a cast member in Dubose Heyward's play Porgy.''

''In 1930 he relocated to New York and attended A’Leila Walker’s “Dark Tower” gatherings, known as a venue where black and white men and women, often gay, mingled. The photographer and writer Carl Van Vechten was deeply involved with the black community of New York in the '30s and was an ardent supporter of Barthé's work. His reputation grew and his work was included in a 1935 exhibit of African-American art at the Museum of Modern Art.''

''He had success and fame. He even had a female patron who set up a trust for him that gave him the freedom to work without financial worries. But he was still an outsider in many ways. He was not a part of the white art world, and his uncompromising homosexuality kept him distanced somewhat from other artists of the Harlem Renaissance. His love life was a series of short affairs that never developed further.''

''In 1975 he moved to Pasadena, Calif., and a year later curators at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art included his work in “Two Centuries of Black American Art.” The attention to his work, the growing respect of a younger audience to artists of the Harlem Renaissance, and the support of his friends brought Barthé stability once again. He lived out his later years as a treasured part of the art community, dying in Pasadena March 6, 1989. ''

Barthe, maybe because he could not attend a New Orleans art school as a teenager because he was black, (and hence went to an art school in Chicago), and also with his Mississipi background, admired the figure of Toussaint Louverture, abolishing slavery in Haiti in 1801. He made several sculptures about him. Below is a picture of the largest one, 40 feet high, which was to be erected on the Champ de Mars facing the National Palace in Haiti capital, Port au Prince.

The Awakening of Africa, whose picture starts this post, was made in bronze in 1959 and is one of Barthé chefs d'oeuvre. You can see another angle of that sculpture on the cover of Sculpture Review magazine (Spring 2011 edition). That edition is focussed on African American Sculpture and key African American figurative sculptors. 

One of the article in that edition (Young, Gifted, and Black Between the Wars - Richmond Barthé’s Manhattan Years) was written by Margaret Rose Vendryes.  She also wrote the book ''Barthé : A life in scupture''.  Indeed during 20 years she was close to the artist, from when he just arrived in New York / Harlem until 20 years later.

Sources :

The Advocate

Omniafrikan  

Blog of Art Now and Then

Sculpture Review Magazine
Le nouvelliste (daily newspaper in Haiti)

Here is a video of Barthe sculpting a dancer.