In Pisa for an extremely interesting exhibition, ‘Modigliani et ses amis, Parigi 1906 – 1920’. The exhibition tells the story of the avant-garde artists who worked in Paris in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Focusing on the paintings and sculptures of Amedeo Modigliani, it also shows works by people associated with the ‘School of Paris’ during that period, including Constantin Brâncusi, Raoul Dufy, Chaim Soutine, Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, André Derain and Marc Chagall.

Amedeo Modigliani ‘Paul Guillaume, Novo Pilota’ (1915)

Amedeo Modigliani ‘Femme au ruban de velours’ (1915)

Amedeo Modigliani ‘Gaston Modot’ (1918)

Amedeo Modigliani ‘The Young Apprentice’ (1917 – 19)

André Derain ‘Portrait of Lucie Kahnweiler’ (1913)

Juan Gris ‘Nature Morte au Livre’ (1913)

At the Musée Toulouse-Lautrec in Albi, south-west France, for an excellent exhibition commemorating the 150th anniversary of his birth. Toulouse-Lautrec, who died tragically young at only 36, was extremely important in recording life in Belle Epoque Paris as well as in the development of graphic art.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ‘Comtesse Adèle de Toulouse-Lautrec at breakfast’ (1881)

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ‘La Goulue’ poster (1891)

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ‘Aristide Bruant Ambassadeurs’ poster (1892)

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ‘Au Salon de la rue des Moulins’ (1894)

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ‘Maurice Joyant, Somme Bay’ (1900)

A sunny November day at Castello di Miramare, Trieste. The spectacular castle and its park were built for Ferdinand Maximilian (1832–1867), of the House of Habsburg, the younger brother of Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria.

At Villa Manin, Passariano, near Udine, for a wonderful retrospective of the career of Man Ray (1890 – 1976), containing over 250 works including paintings, photographs, ‘readymades’ and films.

Man Ray worked alongside artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Giorgio De Chirico and Constantin Brancusi, and painted with and photographed artists and models from the avant-garde world of Dada and Surrealism.

Man Ray ‘Flying Dutchman’ (1920)

Man Ray ‘Cadeau’ (1974 replica of 1921 original)

Man Ray ‘Le Violon d’Ingres’ (1924)

Man Ray ‘Black and White’ (1926)

Man Ray ‘Meret Oppenheim’ (1933)

At Tate Modern in London for two excellent exhibitions.  First was ‘Henri Matisse: Cut- Outs’. When Matisse was prevented from painting by ill health he took to cutting out shapes from painted paper and invented a new medium. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see so many of these works together and it was a major triumph.

Henri Matisse ‘Icarus’ (1943 – 44)

Henri Matisse Blue Nude II (1952)

Henri Matisse ‘The Parakeet and the Mermaid’ (1952)

Henri Matisse ‘The Snail’ (1953)

The second exhibition was a wonderful retrospective of the career of Kazimir Malevich. Malevich was an extremely influential artist whose experiments led him to the invention of Suprematism, epitomised by the infamous ‘Black Square’. The exhibition started with his early Russian landscapes and paintings of peasant workers, continued through the abstract Suprematist works and ended with his return to figurative painting in his later life.

Kazimir Malevich ‘Self Portrait’ (1908 – 10)

Kazimir Malevich ‘An Englishman in Moscow’ (1914)

Kazimir Malevich ‘Supremus No 50’ (1915)

Kazimir Malevich ‘Head of a Peasant’ (1928 – 29)

Kazimir Malevich ‘Black Square’ (1929)

Kazimir Malevich ‘Woman with Rake’ (1930 – 32)

Kazimir Malevich ‘Self Portrait’ (1933)

In Ljubljana, Slovenia for a concert by one of the world’s great orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw of Amsterdam under the baton of Mariss Jansons.  Starting with Brahms ‘Variations on a Theme by Haydn’, the first half was completed by an immaculate performance of Shostakovich’s ‘Symphony no. 1’ The second half began with a wonderful performance of Ravel’s ‘Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G Major’ with the great French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. The concert finale was an amazing rendition of Ravel’s ‘Daphnis et Chloé Suite no. 2’.

Jean-Yves Thibaudet

At the Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence to see the excellent ‘Cézanne et la Modernité’ exhibition, showing the collection formed by Henry and Rose Pearlman, with masterpieces by some of the greatest artists of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist movements. A wonderful  group of paintings and watercolours by Paul Cézanne, as well as paintings and sculptures by artists including Paul Gauguin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Edouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, Jacques Lipchitz, Edgar Degas and Amedeo Modigliani.

Paul Cézanne ‘Mont Sainte-Victoire’ (c.1902)

Vincent van Gogh ‘Tarascon Stage Coach’ (1888)

Amedeo Modigliani ‘Portrait of Jean Cocteau’ (1917)

At the Musée National d’Art Moderne in the Pompidou Centre, Paris, to see ‘Multiple Modernities, 1905 – 1970’. The Museum has the second largest collection of modern and contemporary art in the world, with works representing Fauvism, Cubism, Expressionism, Dada and Surrealism.

Otto Dix ‘Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden’ (1926)

Otto Dix ‘A Memory of the Glass House in Brussels’ (1920)

Also being shown was ‘Man Ray, Picabia et la Revue Littérature’, a fascinating account of the periodical of the Surrealist movement which was published from 1922 to 1924.

A visit to Musée d’Orsay, Paris, particularly to see works by the French realist artists Honoré Daumier, Gustave Courbet and Jean-Francois Millet. It was also an opportunity to see works by Symbolist and Neo-Impressionist artists such as Odilon Redon, Maurice Denis, Georges Seurat and Paul Signac.

Honoré Daumier ‘The Republic’ (1848)

Gustave Courbet ‘Burial at Ornans’ (1849 – 50)

Jean-François Millet ‘The Gleaners’ (1857)

At Opera Garnier to see a fascinating exhibition entitled ‘Les Ballets Suédois – An Avant-Garde Company, 1920 – 1925.’ Les Ballets Suédois appeared in Paris around the same time as the better known Ballets Russes. However, they were able to work with artists such as Fernand Léger, Giorgio De Chirico and Francis Picabia and writers including Jean Cocteau.