Splendour and Misery. Images of Prostitution 1850-1910 – is, as writer John Litchfield states, a tour de force. It has assembled scores of wonderful paintings from all over the world by Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Vincent Van Gogh, André Derain, Pablo Picasso and many of their lesser-known contemporaries. There is also the most extensive show of works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in Paris for more than 40 years.
Litchfield goes on to say that the exhibition does, however, stray into strange territory. There are three “private” rooms protected by red velvet “brothel” curtains. Visitors below the age of 18 are banned from entering. Inside, the visitor finds raunchy, grainy images, which go far beyond what was offered by the old “What the Butler Saw” machines on fairgrounds.
If you want to see this one, you have until January 17. To read Litchfield’s full review, click HERE.
Boldini “Scène de fête au Moulin Rouge”