India Art Festival Set For Comeback; Degas’s Work Goes From \’Russian\’ To \’Ukrainian Dancers\’

A SUMMARY OF THE MOST EXCITING ART NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

While we focus on Indian art, we can’t obviously function in a vacuum. It’s a small world and everything is connected, especially on the web. So, let’s train our spotlight across the world map to see what’s going on — from art trends to socio-political issues to everything that affects the great aesthetic global consciousness. Or, let’s just travel the world and have some fun!

Ukrainian Dancers is new name of Degas’ Russian Dancers by the National Gallery 

The National Gallery has altered the title of Edgar Degas’ drawing Russian Dancers to Ukrainian Dancers”, prompting calls for other cultural institutions to rethink “lazy” interpretations or mislabelling of Ukrainian art and heritage. After calls by Ukrainians on social media, the gallery said it had changed the title of the French impressionist’s turn-of-the-20th-century work, which is currently not on display. It is a pastel depicting troupes of dancers, which the artist was fascinated to see performing in Paris late in his life. The yellow and blue of Ukraine’s national colours are noticeable in what appear to be hair ribbons worn by the dancers and in garlands they are carrying. The Guardian has more details. 

 

After almost 2 years, India Art Festival returns to Delhi 

From April 7-10, the much-awaited India Art Festival will make its return to the national capital, following a nearly two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. Now in its sixth edition, the annual art fair will have on display 3,500 artworks brought by over 20 galleries from across the country. According to the organisers, the four-day event will witness a collection of captivating art pieces and sculptures by modern, contemporary, and traditional Indian artists, connecting galleries, dealers, and buyers, with artists, interior designers, architects, and art connoisseurs. The festival will feature works by at least 350 master and established artists including M F Hussain, S H Raza, Sohan Quadri, Manjit Bawa, Jamini Roy, Abha Sharma, Atul Gendle, Debabrata Basu, Jalpa Patel, and Disha Gandhi. The Print tells you more. 

 

Louvre suspends sale of Chardin\’s record-breaking strawberries 

The sale of a still-life by Jean Siméon Chardin to a New York dealer for a record €24.3m has been put on hold because the Louvre now wants to buy it. The Louvre’s director, Laurence des Cars, told Le Figaro that she has requested Basket of Wild Strawberries should be classed as “a national treasure”, and is seeking sponsorship to buy it. Under French law, which is much stricter than UK law on such matters, this means the work can be held for 2.5 years. An advisory commission is due to meet in mid-April. It almost never rejects a request from the Louvre. But some experts and curators have privately expressed concerns over the purchase of such an expensive work when the museum’s budget has collapsed, especially considering it already has 41 Chardins in its collection. The Art Newspaper reports.