On the Third Floor.

 

Paul Signac, Opus 217

Sunday's NY Times had an article on the best Art Books from this year's Museum Exhibitions  One of those books is 'Felix Feneon, The Anarchist and the Avant-Garde, from Signac to Matisse, and Beyond.'  It's at MoMA; so I went and I'm glad I did.

Felix Feneon was an art critic, editor, publisher, art dealer, collector and anarchist.  He championed and supported Georges-Pierre Seurat, Paul Signac, Pierre Bonnard and Henri Matisse.  All of whom also considered themselves anarchists. In 1894 Felix was arrested and held in prison for 3 months on suspicion of bombing a cafe.  He was acquitted, even though they did find the makings of bombs at his job site, which was the Ministry of War.  La Belle Epoque France was very French.  

In 1906 Felix took a job as an Art Dealer at a prominent Art gallery where he championed his anarchist artist friends.  This exhibition is his collection of European art which he labeled Post Impressionist plus the arts of Africa and Oceania which he was instrumental in introducing to Europe.

Feneon and these artists believed anarchy was the pursuit of harmony: balance between wealth and poverty. 

Paul Signac's initially titled 'In the Time Of Anarchy' changed to ' In the Time of Harmony: The Golden Age Has Not Passed, It Is Still to Come'    1896

Edouard Vuillard 'The Folding Bed' 1903

Paul Signac ' The Demolition Worker' 1897

Maximilien Luce ' Man Washing'   1897

Georges-Pierre Seurat 'The Channel at Gravelines, Evening'  1890

Paul Signac 'Setting Sun'  

Giacomo Balla 'Street Light'

Amedeo Modigliani 'Nude'    1917

Modigliani 'Jeanne Hebuterne with Yellow Sweater'   1918

Matisse

'Interior With Young Girl'

'Landscape near Collioure'

'Still Life With Aubergines'

'Music'

'La Japonaise; Women Beside the Water'

 'Periwinkles' 

'African Mask'

Photo of Felix Feneon.  

He usually wore a top hat and carried a cane and was considered a Dandy.  He had collected 800 works of art, 50 paintings and 180 drawings by Georges-Pierre Seurat and 8 paintings by Matisse.  His collection was auctioned off upon his death in 4 batches, 3 for European art works and one for African and Oceanic art.