The Château de Fontainebleau can proudly claim to have been a sovereign residence for eight centuries. Capétiens, Valois, Bourbons, Bonaparte and Orléans, all members of French ruling dynasties, have lived within these walls. Kings and queens, emperors and empresses have all striven to make their own improvements to the château built around the original keep. The estate quickly became a huge palace in which many momentous historical events have been played out.

The Château de Fontainebleau houses an exceptional collection of works of art, representing the stylistic and aesthetic tastes of those who have lived in its apartments and decided on their décor. Including ornaments and furnishings, these works provide a fascinating art history lesson, and ensure each visit to the château brings new discoveries.

Villa Demoiselle

The Villa Demoiselle, the architectural symbol of the town of Reims, has just opened its doors. The flagship of a blend of Art nouveau and Art déco, it was built from 1904 to 1908 according to plans by the architect Louis Sorel. In 2004, Paul-François Vranken, presidnet of Vranken Champagnes, acquired the villa and undertook major restoration work which lasted almost five years. The very best craftsmen were engaged to restore the villa to its former glory whilst remaining faithful to the style of the era. The Villa Demoiselle is neighbour on Pommery cellars. It is surrounded by a 5 800 m2 large garden and houses a collection of golden vintages.

The world of Cristobal Balenciaga

In tribute to the master of fashion (1895-1972) and to mark the fortieth anniversary of his death, this exhibition unveils an exceptional collection.
More than seventy costumes and items of clothing sit alongside some forty haute couture coats and dresses designed by Balenciaga between 1937 and 1968.

Cima Da Conegliano

Giovanni Battista Cima (1459-1517), born in a small town in Venetia, is one of the leading representatives of Venetian painting in the late 15th and early 16th century. In contact with the greatest artists in Venice, he developed a refined style and perfect technique which distinguish him from all others. His deftly balanced compositions glow with colour and are set in poetic landscapes inspired by his native land.

The exhibition Cima da Coneglianio: Master of the Venetian Renaissance brings together exceptional works, including large altarpieces shown outside Italy for the first time. It gives the public an opportunity to see the work of an artist in phase with his time and to take a new look at the prestigious history of Venice.

Le 39 V

The 39V, located on the 6th and top floor of a Haussmannian building in the very heart of Paris’ “Golden Triangle”, is a veritable haven of peace bordering on the sky. In a contemporary and elegant setting, the Michelin-starred chef Frédéric Vardon puts forward a modern reinterpretation of traditional cuisine. He creates a neoclassical and sometimes mischievous menu where seasonal products always take centre stage. On fine days, the terrace, bordered by a vegetable garden, makes the ideal setting for an aperitif in the sun.

This exhibition tells the stories of two men, Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs (artistic director of LV), and will highlight their contributions to the fashion world. How did they succeed in taking the pulse of their respective periods to innovate and take an entire industry forward? How did these two personalities, each with their own language, appropriate cultural phenomena and codes to write the history of contemporary fashion?

An analysis rather than a retrospective, this parallel Vuitton-Jacobs comparison will provide new insight into the fashion system during its pivotal periods, beginning with its industrialisation and ending with its globalisation, focusing also on its artistic professions and crafts, technological advances, stylistic creations and artistic collaborations. It will also be homecoming for Louis Vuitton, who set up shop only a stone’s throw from the Louvre, the home of his first great patron, Empress Eugénie. Over a century separates Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs, but both come together in the excellence of their creativity.

Tim Burton

The exhibition shows original works that are conscious mixtures of pop, Goth and surrealism – a creative hybridization claimed by the artist, who enjoys mixing and subverting genres.

Some are from his youth and are pure visual reveries imagined for projects that remained in the planning stage. In contrast, others are recent working prototypes whose artistic value is nonetheless incontestable. Their spatial arrangement makes visitors feel as if they are entering the laboratory of this modern Dr. Frankenstein, the creator of a cosmogony where the macabre and the comic join together rather than in opposition. It is a place where the filmmaker's intimate work (sketchbooks, amateur films) is shown next to legendary cinema productions, such as Edward Scissorhands or Sleepy Hollow, whose hidden side is revealed here for the first time

Modigliani, Soutine and the legend of  Montparnasse

Jonas Netter, is one of the most influential collectors of the 20th century, a discoverer of talents, all the more inspired and brilliant, in that he was totally discreet throughout his life, to such an extent that he is even today still completely unknown by the general public.
However, without him, Modigliani would probably not have existed, nor Soutine, nor Utrillo. This exhibition will now pay him the homage he deserves by nally enabling the public to discover an ensemble of works of astounding beauty, chiefly by Modigliani.

La Pinacothèque de Paris will show, for the first time ever, a group of never before exhibited works by Modigliani that recreates, alongside other works we have managed to find, Jonas Netter’s collection such as it was in his own time.
The Pinacothèque de Paris is therefore very proud to be able to partake in this outstanding discovery and to undertake Jonas Netter’s first wish, i.e. that the largest possible public should have access to these marvels.

Maurice Denis- The Eternal Spring

The musée des impressionnismes organises an exhibition exploring the theme of spring in the work of Maurice Denis (1870-1943). The exhibition comprises approximately eighty works – paintings and drawings – and is accompanied by extensive documentation in the form of photographs, publications and correspondence. The works on show include loans from the most prestigious public and private collections, some of which have been displayed publicly only rarely or never at all in France.

The exhibition is divided into three main sections: The Awakening of Nature in Springtime; Christian Spring and Earthly Paradise; The First Signs Of Love and The Spring Of Life. It will also present throughout a little known aspect of Denis’s production, that of his talent as a painter-decorator, by recomposing constitutive elements of some of his large decorative projects.

Helmut Newton

Since Helmut Newton’s death (1920 – 2004), there has been no retrospective of his work in France, although he did much of his work there, particularly for the French edition of Vogue.
Provocative, sometimes shocking, Newton’s work tried to capture the beauty, eroticism, humour – and sometimes violence – that he sensed in the social interaction within the familiar worlds of fashion, luxury, money and power.

The exhibition bring together more than two hundred photographs, mostly original or vintage prints made under Helmut Newton’s supervision: Polaroid, working prints in various sizes, monumental works. It will be supported by press records, and a film made by his wife of sixty years, the photographer June Newton: Helmut by June.
It takes a retrospective, thematic angle. Through the major themes in his work: fashion, nudes, portraits, sex and humour, the exhibition seeks to show that Newton was much more than a fashion photographer. His photography shook off all constraints, even though he often worked within the rigid framework of fashion and portraiture. His work is eminently classical, fitting into a very broad view of art. It experiments freely with themes and formats, and presents a unique vision of the contemporary female body.

A major 20th century artist and the inventor of metaphysical painting, Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) made Paris his chosen city, after Rome.

Almost twenty-one years after the death of his wife Isabella in 1990, the Giorgio and Isa de Chirico Foundation has bequeathed sixty-one works to the City of Paris for its Art Moderne Museum. This museum had already shown its interest in the artist with the Giorgio de Chirico, la fabrique des rêves (Giorgio de Chirico, the Dream Factory) exhibition in 2009, which showed the consistency of Chirico’s work, his talent as a daring inventor and his mistrust of conventions until the very end of his life.

The Art Moderne Museum of the City of Paris now has the largest museum collection of works by Chirico from the second part of the artist’s career, after Rome.

The Jade masks of the Mayas

The Pinacothèque continues its exploration of Pre-Columbian and Meso-American cultures. Following the success of the exhibition The Incas’s Gold : Origins and Mysteries, the Pinacothèque de Paris is showing the most important archeological discovery of the past decade in Mexico : masks made of jade mosaic. These outstanding masks, entirely restored by the most eminent specialists in Mayan archeology, represent the deities’ faces. Created for the governors of the most prestigious lost Mayan cities, they had the mission to ensure eternal life to these dignitaries after their death.

So far, about fifteen masks have been found, most of which are on display at the Pinacothèque de Paris. This extremely rare ensemble, which Mexico has exceptionally agreed to show outside its frontiers, shall be exhibited alongside about one hundred works which are leaving Mexico for the very first time. Thus, the Pinacothèque is offering an immersion into the sophisticated and mysterious cosmogony of that millennial culture.

Degas and the nude

The first major monographic exhibition in Paris devoted to Edgar Degas (1834-1917) since the 1988 retrospective at the Grand Palais, Degas and the Nude contributes to the ambition of the Musée d’Orsay to show the recent progress in research regarding the great masters of the second half of the 19th Century, following the homage to Claude Monet (1840-1926) and more recently Edouard Manet (1832-1883).

This exhibition explores Degas’s evolution in his practice of the nude, from the academic and historical approach of his early years down to the inscription of the body in modernity throughout his long career.

A predominant element in the artist’s work, together with dancers and horses, nudes are presented through all of the techniques used by Degas, including painting, sculpture, drawing, printing and above all pastel, which he brought to its highest degree of achievement.

Organised in partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the exhibition takes advantage of the very rich collection of graphic works of the Musée d’Orsay, seldom shown due to its fragility, to which will be added exceptional loans from the largest collections, such as those of the New York Metropolitan Museum and the Chicago Art Institute.

The twilight of the Pharaohs

This is the first exhibition to be devoted to the treasures of the last dynasties, during which various crises and invasions opened Egypt up to a range of influences. Over 100 exceptional artefacts, on loan from the largest Ancient Egypt collections in the world, demonstrate the breadth and diversity of Egyptian art after the last Ramesses Pharaohs.

From a military and political perspective, this was an unstable period, but Egyptian art, with its long tradition under the Pharaohs, maintained its prestigious position under new foreign rulers, who appropriated its codes with slight variations in style. Although this has long been thought of as a time of decline, it actually saw an outstanding artistic revival.

The Saite Period (672-525 BC) was the high point of this thousand-year era, and is considered a genuine renaissance in Egyptian art. It was during this period, under the Twenty-Sixth dynasty, that Egypt regained its independence, before being invaded by the Persians who formed the Twenty-Seventh dynasty.

This was a time of economic prosperity marked by encounters with other cultures. It saw the construction of large monuments celebrating the greatness of Egyptian culture.

And the Oscar goes to….Jean Dujardin

Jean Dujardin won the best actor Oscar on February 26^th for silent film “The Artist,” becoming the first Frenchman to win the coveted accolade and beating out Hollywood frontrunners George Clooney and Brad Pitt.

Dujardin was largely unknown outside of France until “The Artist” became the toast of film festivals and started racking up awards last year for his moving, virtually silent portrayal of a dashing actor struggling with Hollywood’s transition from silent to talking pictures.

To celebrate the launching of its brand new bar menu, the M64 is delighted to share the secret of composition of its house cocktail… the GLAM’64 :

Hpnotiq* 4cl

Apricot cream 1cl

Raspberry nectar 3cl

2 basil leaves

Lime juice 2cl

Mix in a shaker, dress in a cocktail glass with candied ginger. Serve chilled with a straw.

* liquor made from vodka, Cognac and exotic fruit juice

Have a look at the new bar menu

Laëtitia Casta-Dominique Issermann

Over a period of three days, Dominique Issermann photographed Laetitia Casta at the thermal spa designed by architect Peter Zumthor in Vals, Switzerland. The result is a “pas de deux”: a photographic choreography. The project follows on from Dominique Issermann’s book on Anne Rohart published by Schirmer et Mosel in 1987. There is a sense of three people breathing: Laetitia Casta’s breathless emotion as she discovers the place and abandons herself to the unknown; Dominique Issermann holding his breath to capture the moments when Laetitia Casta fleetingly appears in the building; and Peter Zumthor whose creative breath can be felt in the walls, stairs, pools and corridors. Thirty-three photographs that ultimately form a single image: the definitive, archetypal image of Laetitia Casta in all her sublime, unfettered nudity.

Debussy, music and the arts

Claude Debussy was undoubtedly the composer of the turn of the 19th Century who mostly found his inspiration in the fields of contemporary poetry and visual arts. Very early on, he took an interest in the most innovative artists, those who were most on the fringe of the academicism of the time.

The exhibition intends to evoke the major relationships knit by the musician with artists and poets of his time, in particular through the collections of three families with which he was closely acquainted and who supported him during the difficult years that preceded the first performance of Pelleas and Melisande : that of the painter Henry Lerolle (1848-1929), of the composer Ernest Chausson (1855-1899) and of Arthur Fontaine (1860-1931), Councillor of state.

In these surroundings, in which refinement, taste and simplicity excluded all society life, the musician could admire works by Degas, Renoir, Vuillard, Gauguin, Camille Claudel, Maurice Denis, Redon, Bonnard, Carrière and Puvis de Chavannes. Paintings, drawings and pastels will be shown alongside letters and photographs by these artists and original editions by Gide, Louÿs and Valéry, as well as manuscripts by Chausson and Debussy.

Signé Dali- The Sabater Collection

For the very first time in France, Espace Dalí is exhibiting a collection of works that Salvador Dalí presented and dedicated to his friend Enrique Sabater.

This temporary exhibition brings together over a hundred oils, watercolours, sketches, drawings and photographs that bear witness to the friendship between the Catalan genius and the man who was his secretary for over ten years.

Goudemalion. Jean-Paul Goude une rétrospective.

Les Arts Décoratifs is organising the first exhibition of Jean-Paul Goude’s work in Paris. One of the most brilliant ‘image makers’ of contemporary creation is proposing a retrospective and creative vision of his oeuvre encompassing all his areas of activity, from fashion and photography to advertising and the live event. His entire forty-year career will be retraced in the nave at Les Arts Décoratifs, featuring his drawings, objects, music, films and photographs.
Conceived as a large installation, the exhibition will of course evoke the Bicentenary of the French Revolution. Visitors will be welcomed in the reception hall by one of the gigantic waltzing ladies that caused such a sensation in the 1989 parade, then discover the monumental locomotive in the middle of the nave, installed on conveyor belt surrounded by numerous drawings. In the Tuileries gallery, an ‘introspective’ evocation of Goude’s work will take the public on a chronological journey from his débuts at Saint-Mandé to his most recent work. Evoking his decisive encounters, collaborations, influences and souvenirs, this journey will be punctuated with the artist’s original creations, while in the alcoves on the rue de Rivoli side six theatrical yet intimate installations will reactivate the highpoints of his life and work.

Samouraï, armor of the warrior
Musée du Quai Branly

For the first time in Europe, the musée du quai Branly presents the exceptional collection of samurai armor from The Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum, Dallas. The exhibition aims to show the public the culture, lifestyle and art of the samurai warrior in Japanese society over almost nine centuries through various types of objects, including full suits of armor, helmets, and full horse armor, used for both battle and ceremonial parades.

Samurai belonged to the intellectual elite of Japanese society and practiced disciplines often contrasting with the violence of the art of combat, such as calligraphy, poetry and literature. Their armorers worked as artists creating beautiful pieces, most with delicate details, which were also capable of protecting the samurai in the most violent of battles.

The armor of the ancient Japanese warriors, in particular helmets of lacquered metal adorned with crests often inspired by nature, had a duty to report the status of the warrior, differentiate each samurai from another, and also frighten the enemy on the battlefield.

Through over 140 objects – full suits of armor, helmets, weapons, horse armor and accoutrements – the exhibition shows the evolution of the omote dogu – external appearance and equipment of the samurai warrior – from the twelfth to nineteenth century, a period that saw the rise and expansion of the fascinating samurai culture.

The Dutch Golden Age- The Kremer collection
Pinacothèque de Paris

The Dutch Golden Age refers to a rise of a merchant class to political power. The Netherlands are based during the 17th century on an incredible economic wealth. The country is one of the few places in Europe where war was not waged, without any Inquisition or religious intolerance. It became a refuge for artists, thinkers, writers and philosophers who could find such freedom of expression nowhere else.

An extraordinary artistic movement developed then, supported by a new category of collectors : the merchants and the bourgeois. During that period in Holland, collecting was no longer the prerogative of aristocrats, as elsewhere in Europe,
The Pinacothèque de Paris shows an outstanding set of fifty seven exceptional works which favour the technic of the chiaroscuro, developped and widely spread during the Dutch Golden Age. The exhibition focuses on genre scenes and social relations between the various trades in 17th century Holland, and also shows, how the bourgeoisie overtook the aristocracy in the world of art lovers and collectors. The exhibition also shows still-life paintings and landscapes which are among the most remarkable and the most representative paintings of this time.

Russian old New year

New Year is Russia’s biggest festive celebration, rich in history, fascinating traditions and amusing customs. It is certainly the Russians’ best-loved holiday – and, amazingly, in Russia it is always celebrated twice. While the rest of the world is back at work soon after January 1^st, the people of Russia get to celebrate all over again with Russian Old New Year on the night of January 13^th – New Year’s Eve according to the pre-revolutionary calendar.

Renovation of the hôtel Biron

Well known to Parisians as the Hôtel Biron, the magnificant hôtel particulier that dates from the 18th century has housed the Musée Rodin ever since its opening in 1919. Now it has become urgent to begin renovations so that it will conform to modern norms of security and accessibility and renovate its museography as well.

The programme for work of improvement includes the museography, the renovation of the exhibition rooms, the adaptation to current norms of accessibility of the entire building, the opening of new visiting rooms, restoration and refi nishing of the parquets, and a complete renewal of the museographic course.

Le marché Biron

Some time after 1870, the Paris rag-and-bone men moved outside city limits for public health reasons. They then settled between the fortifications and the first houses of Saint-Ouen village, where, every sunday, they spread their wares flat on the ground.
From 1920, the “Puces” dealers began selling from enclosed stalls, and then Biron, Vernaison, Malik and Vallès Markets were created.

After 1945, junk dealers and rag-and-bone men gave way to brocanteurs (second-hand furniture dealers), antiques and clothes dealers. Thirteen other markets opened between 1945 and 1991.

Marché Biron was established in 1930 and is internationally recognised as one of the most prestigious art markets in france. Biron’s highly respected reputation is based on the in-depth knowledge of its specialist Art and Antique dealers and the high quality of the works of art, antiques and objects they present.

Along with the stunning illuminations on the world’s most beautiful avenue, no less than 160 authentic (made in the Vosges) chalets line the Champs-Elysées between the Rond-point and Place de la Concorde.

An ideal place to stop off at to do some shopping or enjoy some mulled wine and taste regional products: foie gras, ham, champagne, etc. And why not have a ride on the big wheel to get a breathtaking view of the Champs-Elysées and the Christmas illuminations

Patrick Roger, chocolate artist

A sculptor of flavours, he treats chocolate like a raw material which he transforms into giant 80-kilo creations or wrapped sweets in metre-long boxes.

The subtlety of flavours, the combination of textures and the sublime aesthetics of the creations are what makes the gourmet world of Patrick Roger so fascinating, offering such refined excellence.

Constantly striving for innovation and perfection, he loves to cause a stir with skilful combinations and majestic sculptures.

Game Story  /  Grand Palais
November 10th 2011- January  9^th 2012

The video game is a young media that appeared at the start of the 1970s and has evolved constantly, perfecting its techniques, and establishing itself as a major cultural industry.
From the start, the new media has been at the centre of much discussion and analysis, focusing essentially on its social or personal impact on users. This exhibition consequently sets out to explore different angles: aesthetic and cultural.
The interactive hands-on exhibition offers visitors the chance to try out a selection of some eighty games, consoles and computers, tracing the history of video games from their appearance in the 1970s to the present day. It presents the imaginary worlds, serials, genres and graphic styles spawned by the video game. Combining animated imagery, music, dialogue, complex scenarios and interactive operation, video games have, over the years, become a cultural object in their own right and a veritable mode of expression.

Boris Vian  / BNF
October 18th 2011- January 15th 2012

Holder of the Ecole centrale (College of engineering) diploma, Boris Vian worked only a few years as an engineer and preferred to devote himself to writing. He used the pen name of Vernon Sullivan, pretending to be the translator, to publish « J’irai cracher sur vos tombes », written in the style of American violent thrillers. Though the novel was considered as a shocking one and censored, three other works by Vernon Sullivan were published until 1950, which tainted the writer’s reputation. After the publication of « L’Ecume des jours », the novels signed with his own name went unnoticed.

In 1953, after the failure of « L’Arrache-coeur », he turned away from fiction writing to devote himself to songwriting and worked as a songwriter, singer and artistic director at Philips records company. He also created theatrical works and cabaret musicals.

The exhibition invites visitors to follow in Boris Vian’s footsteps from Saint-Germain-des-Prés to the Collège de Pataphysique, from jazz clubs to cafés where committed intellectuals such as Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir spent a lot of time.

Musée de la grande guerre du pays de Meaux

The exceptional collection that the Museum of the Great War of the Pays de Meaux conserves and presents has its origins in the work of a private collector, Jean-Pierre Verney, a self-taught man who is an acknowledged expert on the First World War. Jean-Pierre Verney started collecting items at the end of the 1960s.

Unlike most collectors, his aim was not to put together an exhaustive collection, but to be able to tell the History and the stories by using objects astransmitters of memory: armaments and artillery, objects from daily life on the front and from the rear, large items, over 200 complete uniforms representing all combatant nations (35 countries), newspapers, photographs, glass plates, posters, postcards, drawings, letters, engravings, paintings, etc.

The collection is one of exceptional diversity. It “expresses emotion, lassitude, anger, pride, separation, and a large part of the visible or obscured facets of the event” explains Jean-Pierre Verney, who has collected almost 50 000 objects and documents. Acquired in 2005 by the Communauté d’Agglomération du Pays de Meaux, the collection is to date the largest in Europe to address the Great War under all its aspects

Stefan Filey

Stefan Filey is really a multi-talented artist : arrangement and production, singing and song writing, this accomplished musician can do everything. Born in the seventies, he’s been singing since he was six years old. West Indian by blood and by soul, his music-loving parents very soon introduced him at an early age to Motown artists as well as to blues and jazz. His first outlet for his love for music was at church.

Inspired by great singers such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Donnie Hathaway, Sly Stone, Al Green and Smokey Robinson, Stefan started to work on his first album named ”Soul Influences”, which came out in 2002. His debut album marked him as a precursor in a trend which has never yet been fully developed in France. As a matter of fact, Stefan opened the doors wide for French soul singers who had been struggling for years. They can thank him for finally drawing the attention of majors who started to sign contracts with them.

Stefan Filey is determined to share his unique style of French soul with all music lovers… He is now promoting his new EP “The Lost album”.