Waterlilies on the snow

Caught in a whirlpool of summer I forgot to tell you about some fantastic things and places I’ve discovered lately... Where to start?... Where to start?... How about mountains – there is always something magical to discover in the mountains... Or how about a town? Or better yet – the ancient town in the mountains which history goes two thousand years back to Celtic tribes and Roman expansions? 

 Roman Amphitheater in Martigny. Image www.isyours.com

At the foot of Swiss Alps squeezed between France and Italy lies a little town Martigny. St.Moritz, the famous ski resort nearby, steals the attention for the most of the time, but not when it comes to art.  Of course I had no idea that there was actually “art” in Martingny, until a friend has told me about a unique exhibition of Claude Monet paintings at the Fondation Gianadda.   It took no time to set the navigator...

Foundation Pierre Gianadda.

 

In the spring of 1976, while planning to build an apartment building on a parcel of land he owned, Leonard Gianadda, engineer, discovered the remains of a Gallo-Roman temple, the oldest of its kind in Switzerland.  Soon after, July 31, 1976, his younger brother, Pierre, died tragically in a plane crash.  Leonard decided to create a foundation to perpetuate his memory. This cultural center has been erected  around the ancient temple. 

 

 Claude Monet: «Le Pont de l'Europe, Gare Saint-Lazare», 1877, Oil on canvas

 Claude Monet: Olive tree wood in the Moreno garden {Bordighera} (1884)

Of course the paintings of Claude Monet were captivating and a special touch to the exhibition was added by the fact that many exhibits belong to private collections and in this constellation they won’t be seen very soon... But the best feature of the museum was the light itself, streaming through the roof. 

First floor of the foundation hosts a Gallo-Roman museum. The collection includes offerings, coins, pottery, jewellery, clothing clasps, weapons, etc. It also houses the famous Great Bronzes of Octodurus, depicting the head of a three-horned bull, discovered in 1883, as well as some pieces of the Délèze Treasure, a replica of Aphrodite at Cnidus by Praxiteles, an Apollo...

Permanent exhibitions include Automobile Museum, The Chagall Court, Le Pavillon Szafran, The Sculpture park. There is also an exposition "Leonardo da Vinci: The inventor" taking place until October 22nd. I missed all of this! So I have to return there very very soon.

This is summer for you - too much to do. I am a terrible reporter in summer, if I were a journalist I'd be fired. But thank God I am an artist. We are allowed to be eccentric, lazy and whimsical. Yes. But we are hard-working and tormented - most of the times. Busy at the very least. 

Apart from cruising around the country in the search of beauty, I have been working on several paintings. I am posting this one, even so it is still unfinished. Based on  a dream I had a while ago, memories and elements evolved into a completely new idea in the process of creation. There is no title yet to this one. 

100 cm x 100 cm, Oil, acrylic and Gold leaf (23.75 K) on canvas. 

Busy, busy beautiful week to everyone!

Bisoux,

AB