ART
Colours of
EUROPE
With works from France’s Rodin to the Italian Bellotto on show, European art comes to the capital this summer, writes Alastair Smart
SEASON OF ART Above: Six Spaces with Four Small Crosses, Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1932), on display at Tate Modern this summer
W
ith the current restrictions on travel abroad, Londoners are missing out on huge helpings of European culture. All is not lost, however, as the capital hosts exhibitions by several artists from the continent this summer.
Sophie Taeuber-Arp
Tate Modern pays homage to the underappreciated Swiss, Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889-1943) – who spent most of her life in the shadow of her husband, the sculptor Jean Arp. Featuring paintings, puppets, purses and much else besides, this retrospective confirms Sophie as someone 34 The London Magazine
who flitted between fine art and applied art delightfully. Until 17 October; tate.org.uk
The EY Exhibition: Auguste Rodin On at the same venue is a show offering an alternative look at Auguste Rodin (18401917). The Frenchman’s fame rests on grand sculptures in marble and bronze, but this exhibition focuses on his preparatory work for them in plaster. The visitor gets a look at the evolution of masterpieces such as The Thinker and The Burghers of Calais (a bronze version of which stands outside the Houses of Parliament). Until 21 November; tate.org.uk
Jean Dubuffet
Another French master with a London show this summer is Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985). Not that he would have liked being called a master. Dubuffet was fascinatingly contrarian, disdaining all art that was shown in museums and traditional galleries. He championed the work of children, prisoners, clairvoyants and asylum inmates, which he referred to as Art Brut (‘Outsider Art’). Dubuffet spent his career trying to summon the brut spirit in his work. At a Barbican retrospective, you can judge whether he subverted western art tradition or revived it. Until 22 August; barbican.org.uk
