Prix de Rome: One of the world's most prestigious awards remembered

David

(The Sabine Women Enforcing Peace by Running Between the Combatants detail by Jacques Louis David-Winner of the 1774 Prix de Rome)

In 1663, the French government, under the direction of the King, instituted the Prix de Rome. Its purpose was to send the nation's most promising artists, architects, and composers to Rome to learn to work classical styles of the masters. A list of the winners, originally compiled on wikipedia, is found below. Winners of the Prix de Rome became key figures in shaping art and culture when they returned home. They were instructors in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and judges of the Paris Salon and composers for European opera houses. They were seen as guardians of classical ideals and virtue in the arts by one generation. By another generation, beginning with the French Impressionists, they were sometime seen as too restrictive in their classical views.

After 320 years, the Prix de Rome was ended during the 1968 student revolts in France. There have been attempts to reignite the Prix de Rome. The most recent is in the Netherlands.

(You can read more about the Prix de Rome and its history at the official website half-heartedly maintained by the French government.)

Prix de Rome Winners:

The Architecture Category

The Painting Category

The Sculpture Category

The Engraving Category

The engravery prize was created in 1804 and suppressed in 1968 by André Malraux, the minister of the Culture.

The Musical Composition Category

ArtMicah Christensen Comments
"Neo-classicist" Graydon Parrish

NPR recently did a story on the artist Graydon Parrish. (Click here to listen to the story.) The story centers around his painting memorializing the fall of the Trade Center Towers.

The Cycle of Terror by Graydon Parrish (8' x 18')

The painting relies heavily on symbolism and comes with a four-page pamphlet describing the contents of the painting (e.g. a burning US Constitution, a faded Statue of Liberty).  It begs the question: In a world where symbolism is not readily understood, can we return to the style of painting of the Old Masters?

ArtMicah Christensen Comment
Deaccessioning: When Museums Trade Old for New

Artemis and Stag

de-ac-ces-sion (v. t.)

To remove and sell (a work of art) from a museum's collection, especially in order to purchase other works of art.

Webster's Dictionary

Recently, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the principal museum of Buffalo, New York, decided to sell a number of important art works in its permanent collection with the intent of "acquiring and exhibiting art of the present."

Among the works that will be "traded up" are:

1. Artemis and Stage, a greco-roman statue

2. An ancient Chinese Bronze (there are only a handful in the world)

3 A life-size, Tenth-century statue of the god Shiva, that a Sotheby's specialist told the Associated Press is "the most important Indian sculpture ever to appear on the market."

In addition, many paintings by old masters will be auctioned off.

Tom L. Freudenheim, a former Museum Director and a current member of the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), grew up in Buffalo. He wrote an article published in the Wall Street Journal condemning the move by the Art Gallery to sell its collection:

Museums are devoting more and more resources to acquiring large amounts of contemporary art, work about which the judgment of history -- supposedly what museums are all about -- is far from settled. Such acquisition policies may be acceptable, but not when done by getting rid of masterpieces whose importance has been validated by time and critical opinion and that provide a context for the work of the present. Ironically, this plan is driven by perceptions about the notably erratic and currently inflated contemporary art market, rather than by any dire financial crisis.

He continues:

The message is, once again, that those entrusted with the sacred task of safeguarding our public patrimony have become as irresponsible as the money-grubbing executives who have given corporate America such a bad name. The works of art in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery don't belong to the directors or curators, who move in and out of communities as job opportunities present themselves. Nor are they the property of the trustees, who are meant to hold them in trust for the people of Buffalo, but who now show that they cannot be trusted.

It's hard not to agree with Mr. Freudenheim; however, I took a few minutes to visit the Albright-Knox website for their side of the story, and, while they did not offer any information on the upcoming deaccessioning auction, they did have a mission statement that seemed to support their actions:

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery, one of the nation’s oldest public arts organizations, has a clear and compelling mission to acquire, exhibit, and preserve both modern and contemporary art. It focuses especially on contemporary art, with an active commitment to taking a global and multidisciplinary approach to the presentation, interpretation, and collection of the artistic expressions of our times. In an enriching, dynamic, and vibrant environment that embraces diverse cultures and traditions, the Gallery seeks to serve a broad and far-reaching audience.

To validate that this has always been their policy, I used Archive.org's Way Back Maching to find out whether or not this is a recent mission statement or long-stated goal. Sure enough, this has always been their statement.

The question then becomes, not "why are they selling these priceless items?" but, with an emphasis on contemporary art, "why did they ever acquire these old, priceless pieces in the first place?"

UncategorizedMicah Christensen Comment
"Combat Art" in Iraq: US Marine Michael Fay
Things That Go Boom by US Marine Michael Fay from his blog, http://mdfay.blogspot.com/

In today's Wall Street Journal, Daniel Grant talk about US Marine "combat artists" currently working in Iraq. From the article:

"The military uses artists in a variety of roles. Most create recruiting posters, maps and diagrams, and animation for interactive military-training software, but some also produce combat art. Those soldiers will go into the field with a platoon, drawing and painting scenes of military life."

From "This Military Basic Training Is in Art" by Daniel Grant (Wall Stret Journal | October 18, 2006)

A quick search on the Google took me to the blog of Michael Fay, who describes himself as "one of three combat artists for the United States Marine Corps." His blog (http://mdfay.blogspot.com/) features work, in various stages, that he has done in the field.

Monday's Marine by US Marine Michael Fay from his blog, http://mdfay.blogspot.com/
Wounded Warrior by US Marine Michael Fay from his blog, http://mdfay.blogspot.com/

His paintings evoke for me the kind of 19-century painting done by the French artists accompanying Napoleon on the Nile. (There is currently an exhibition on this French art at the Dahesh Museum in New York.) It's a wonderful surprise to know that the Military is supporting this kind of reflection on their work.

ArtMicah Christensen