Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Copenhagen's Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek presents 150 years of French art

Edward Manet, the Execution of the Emperor Maximilian, 1867 
I have always had a soft spot for Emperor Maximilian 1 of Mexico. If you look at the story of his life in Wikipedia, you will see that he was a fundamentally good man caught up in power politics beyond his control.

I mention this now because the Manet painting of his death is one of the paintings in a new display at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek just down the road from eldest's place in Copenhagen.

artdaily records that the exhibition includes 200 works of French art including pieces by Manet, Degas, Monet, Cézanne, van Gogh and Gauguin covering the period from 1850 to 1950. Unusually, the exhibition is presented in reverse chronological order, starting in 1950 and then working back. I would be interested to see just how this works. It should so long as the explanatory material is good.

The Glyptotek  is a lovely gallery, although those parts reliant on natural light are best not seen at dusk on a Copenhagen winter day! You also need to allow time, for I find that these very large exhibitions have a blurring effect if you try to pack the whole into a single visit.

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