Back in 2009 we published a couple of articles about the Canadian painter Doris Pontieri who arrived here in Barga for a brief couple of weeks but was dramatically changed by her visit to the city.
She returned to her native Canada but has always said that she will return to paint here again. It would seem that her wish could come true shortly as this week comes the news that she is one of 12 Canadian artists selected to exhibit at the SNBA Carousel de Louvre Show in Paris, France in December 2012. The Canadian delegation of artists will also have a dedicated wall at the show.
Barga is after all, but a brief plane ride south from Paris.
The Carousel du Louvre is an underground shopping mall in Paris, France. The name refers to two nearby sites, the Louvre museum and the Place du Carrousel. The mall contains a famous skylight, the La Pyramide Inversée (the inverted pyramid), which plays an important role in the best-selling book The Da Vinci Code. In addition, the Carrousel du Louvre includes an extensive exhibition space where major annual events like the Paris Photo exhibit are held.
The shopping mall is located at 99 Rue de Rivoli in the 1st arrondissement and contains one of the few entrances to the Louvre museum.
Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions.
Established in 1862, the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts was first chaired by the writer Théophile Gautier, with the painter Aimé Millet as deputy chairman. The committee consisted of the painters Eugène Delacroix, Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, Puvis de Chavannes and among the exhibitors were Léon Bonnat, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Charles-François Daubigny, Laura Fredducci, Gustave Doré, and Edouard Manet. In 1864, just after the death of Delacroix, the society organized a retrospective exhibition of 248 paintings and lithographs of this famous painter and step-uncle of the emperor -- and ceased to mount further exhibitions.
In 1890, the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts was re-vitalised under the rule of Ernest Meissonier, Puvis de Chavannes, Jules Dalou, Auguste Rodin, Carolus-Duran, Bracquemond and Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, and since then its annual exhibition was reviewed as the Salon de Champ-de-Mars, traditionally opening a fortnight later than the official Salon de Champs-Élysées, organised by the Société des Artistes Français. In both societies the president was a painter and the vice-president a sculptor. The first president of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts was Ernest Meissonier, but he died soon, and the vice-president was Jules Dalou. The second president was Puvis de Chavannes and the vice-president was Auguste Rodin.
My time here in Barga, although a mere two weeks, seems to have changed me and I don’t know if that is a good thing. I have been content to live my life the way I always have, until now. It’s kind of like that Todd Rundgren song “I saw the light”…sometimes you don’t know something until you are hit in the head with it
It is the middle of the night and I should be sleeping, but I don’t want to miss a minute of this place. I can always sleep when I get home. When I planned this trip, I had a full itinerary in mind including lots of day trips and travel to interesting places, but after just a couple of days here, I knew I wouldn’t leave to go anywhere. I spent half a day in Lucca and couldn’t wait to get back here to Barga.
I’ve travelled extensively in my life, but can honestly say that I have never been affected by anywhere I have visited as profoundly as I have here. I have talked extensively about the beauty and charm of Barga Vecchia, the sites I have seen and the people I have met. What is most difficult to put into words is the change that seems to happen for most visitors to this relatively unknown place. It is slow in it’s’ approach and kind of sneaks up on you, but once it gets hold of you, there seems to be no turning back. -- Doris Pontieri -- full article here
Congrats, Doris. You’ll take Paris by storm. Allez les peintres!