MMFA 2013: Jules de Balincourt

Jules de Balincourt
Paintings 2004-2013

November 28, 2013, to March 23, 2014

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is premiering the Franco-American artist Jules de Balincourt. He is an important figure belonging to the New York community's new-generation-painters scene.

Jules de Balincourt's work has been exhibited at prominent international galleries and museums such as Musee d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Mori Museum in Tokyo (solo), MOMA in New York, and the Royal Academy in London.

Balincourt's works are featured in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

One of the paintings on display entitled Boys' Club (see just below) was gifted to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts by W. Bruce C. Baily in honour of Stéphanie Aquin, curator of Contemporary Art at the MMFA and curator of this exhibition.

There is Free Admission to this exhibition. 

For more information visit the Museum's website

http://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/

Art and Music in Venice Book - MMFA 2013

Art and Music in Venice
From the Renaissance to the Baroque

This publication accompanies the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' current exhibition Splendore a Venezia: Art and Music from the Renaissance to Baroque in the Serenissima, on display between October 12, 2013 and January 19, 2014. This is a relatively short time for such an important exhibition that provides the historical background to so many artistic and musical tendencies and innovations that took root in Venice and subsequently shaped the Europe's artistic taste and creativity for some time.

The book comprises of 240 pages, many of which are devoted to high quality illustrations and reproductions of paintings.  Together, the illustrations and the text reveal how the music, drawing and painting intertwined, forming one artistic expression. What we now refer to by such terms as renaissance, baroque, or classical, actually represented tor the Venetians' their everyday arts. They were their 'contemporary' music and 'contemporary' visual art expressions, their latest 'hits'. One cannot help but to realize how much more sophisticated and even refined people's artistic tastes were at those times as compared to our's.  

Here are images of several book's pages to give you some idea of what is inside. My photographs of those pages fail to capture the full scope of the content and the beauty of this publication.

Unfortunately, MMFA no longer has an online bookstore. But you can purchase the book in person at the MMFA Boutique and Store.

You can also read more about the exhibition here.

Archaeological Dig PAC Museum 2013

2013 Archaeological Dig Results

Montreal Museum of Archeology and History Pointe-à-Callière (PAC) has unveiled some major discoveries during the summer 2013 dig on the historical site of the former St. Ann’s Market and the Parliament of the United Province of Canada. That location is classified as a heritage site by Québec Department of Culture and Communications.

Close to 50,000 artefacts and biofacts, as well as charred remains of 35 books have been found at the dig at Place D’Youville in Old Montréal, beneath a former City of Montreal parking lot, where the remains of the historical sites are located.

The book fragments that were found are charred and carbonized due to the fire that took place on the night of April 25, 1849 that destroyed the Parliament buildings and all its library collections. The remains of the books have were sent to the Canadian Conservation Institute which is assessing restoration options in order to identify the books and make them accessible.

The enlarged book fragment above is one of the pieces under the glass cover (lower left corner of the glass box) in the photo below.

In addition, it has been announced that PAC Museum has launched its first ever fundraising campaign. The co-chairs of this fundraising campaign are the representatives of the National Bank of Canada. The project team has already raised over $7 million dollars.

PAC Museum's statement:

"Towards an Archaeology and History Complex

Showcasing St. Ann’s Market—home of the Parliament of the United Province of Canada—and the items found there is just one part of Pointe-à-Callière’s extensive plans to create an archaeology and history complex comprising some ten sites. Aside from displaying the remains of this site, the planned complex will also preserve and display the remains of Fort Ville-Marie and of Callière’s Residence, and will include a space to house international exhibitions, all of which will be linked underground by a 400-metre stretch of the William collector sewer. The completion of this unique heritage treasure is planned for 2017, to mark the Museum’s 25th anniversary, Montréal’s 375th birthday, and the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Pointe-à-Callière intends to preserve and showcase these sites as a commemorative gesture, giving the public access to this exceptional heritage, today and in the future. Full details on the planned expansion are available on the Museum’s website."

Visit the PAC Museum's site to find out more about the museum and its exhibitions

http://www.pacmusee.qc.ca/en/home


Click on any image to enlarge it.