Markus L眉pertz & Pierre Puvis de Chavannes
Michael Werner Gallery, Beverly Hills is pleased to present its inaugural exhibition Markus L眉pertz - Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, highlighting recent paintings by German post-war artist Markus L眉pertz (b. 1941 in Liberec, Bohemia) as well as paintings and drawings by 19th century French master Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (b. 1824 in Lyon, d. 1898 in Paris). In the exhibition, the artists, born over a hundred years apart, are presented in direct dialogue with one another.
Over the course of a nearly seven-decade career, L眉pertz has created an expansive body of work, which art historian Aim茅e Brown Price describes as 鈥渞eplete with staunch emotional, historical, and personal content.鈥� L眉pertz mulls over, repeats, and recontextualizes imagery with deep cultural and personal resonance, often culling from the work of past artists, such as Poussin, Rembrandt, Goya, and Courbet. L眉pertz has said, 鈥淚 live with artists I routinely retrieve from the recesses of history, and then they become a part of my everyday life, they are my companions, they exist for me. I deal with them as if they were alive.鈥�
L眉pertz has been engaged with Puvis de Chavannes since 2011, connecting himself to a lineage of important, renowned artists who have been inspired by the great French master. During his lifetime, Puvis de Chavannes pushed forward modernism and influenced the work of Seurat, Gauguin, and C茅zanne. Posthumously, he influenced Matisse as well as Picasso鈥檚 Blue Period. Van Gogh called him the 鈥渕aster of us all.鈥�
The paintings by L眉pertz in the exhibition date from 2013 and chart his exchange with Puvis de Chavannes over the ensuing decade. At times, L眉pertz pays homage by incorporating objects and figures from Puvis de Chavannes鈥檚 paintings into his compositions. Other times, he simply evokes the unique, mystic classicism that permeates the works of Puvis de Chavannes. L眉pertz鈥檚 paintings are complemented by an impressive array of drawings and paintings by Puvis de Chavannes, some of which are landscapes, preparatory drawings for commissions, epic scenes, and portraiture.
Markus L眉pertz has been the subject of numerous surveys in recent years, including at the Hirshhorn Museum and the Phillips Collection, Washington, DC; the Mus茅e d鈥橝rt Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Kunst- und Austellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn; Haus der Kunst, Munich; Gemeentemuseum, The Hague; The Hermitage State Museum, St. Petersburg, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art; and Palazzo Loredan, Venice.
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes was called 鈥渢he painter of France鈥� during his lifetime. His works hang in major museums around the world, including The Louvre, Mus茅e d鈥橭rsay, Petit Palais, Mus茅e Picasso, The Rijksmuseum, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Smithsonian, and Carnegie Museum of Art, to name only a few.
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Michael Werner Gallery, Beverly Hills is pleased to present its inaugural exhibition Markus L眉pertz - Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, highlighting recent paintings by German post-war artist Markus L眉pertz (b. 1941 in Liberec, Bohemia) as well as paintings and drawings by 19th century French master Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (b. 1824 in Lyon, d. 1898 in Paris). In the exhibition, the artists, born over a hundred years apart, are presented in direct dialogue with one another.
Over the course of a nearly seven-decade career, L眉pertz has created an expansive body of work, which art historian Aim茅e Brown Price describes as 鈥渞eplete with staunch emotional, historical, and personal content.鈥� L眉pertz mulls over, repeats, and recontextualizes imagery with deep cultural and personal resonance, often culling from the work of past artists, such as Poussin, Rembrandt, Goya, and Courbet. L眉pertz has said, 鈥淚 live with artists I routinely retrieve from the recesses of history, and then they become a part of my everyday life, they are my companions, they exist for me. I deal with them as if they were alive.鈥�
L眉pertz has been engaged with Puvis de Chavannes since 2011, connecting himself to a lineage of important, renowned artists who have been inspired by the great French master. During his lifetime, Puvis de Chavannes pushed forward modernism and influenced the work of Seurat, Gauguin, and C茅zanne. Posthumously, he influenced Matisse as well as Picasso鈥檚 Blue Period. Van Gogh called him the 鈥渕aster of us all.鈥�
The paintings by L眉pertz in the exhibition date from 2013 and chart his exchange with Puvis de Chavannes over the ensuing decade. At times, L眉pertz pays homage by incorporating objects and figures from Puvis de Chavannes鈥檚 paintings into his compositions. Other times, he simply evokes the unique, mystic classicism that permeates the works of Puvis de Chavannes. L眉pertz鈥檚 paintings are complemented by an impressive array of drawings and paintings by Puvis de Chavannes, some of which are landscapes, preparatory drawings for commissions, epic scenes, and portraiture.
Markus L眉pertz has been the subject of numerous surveys in recent years, including at the Hirshhorn Museum and the Phillips Collection, Washington, DC; the Mus茅e d鈥橝rt Moderne de la Ville de Paris; Kunst- und Austellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn; Haus der Kunst, Munich; Gemeentemuseum, The Hague; The Hermitage State Museum, St. Petersburg, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art; and Palazzo Loredan, Venice.
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes was called 鈥渢he painter of France鈥� during his lifetime. His works hang in major museums around the world, including The Louvre, Mus茅e d鈥橭rsay, Petit Palais, Mus茅e Picasso, The Rijksmuseum, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Smithsonian, and Carnegie Museum of Art, to name only a few.
Artists on show
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Michael Werner launches its Beverly Hills space with a show by Markus L眉pertz and Pierre Puvis de Chavannes that's in a league of its own.
There is something inherently contentious about an exhibition juxtaposing the work of a contemporary artist with another whose work has some place within the art-historical canon.
