Pascal Bonafoux (born 1949) is a French writer, novelist,

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogu ...

and art historian, a specialist in

self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

ure. He collaborates with various newspapers and magazines, he is the author of numerous essays dedicated to art and was a resident at the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in 16 ...

. He is professor of art history at

Paris 8 University Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis (french: Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis) is a public university in Paris, France. Once part of the historic University of Paris, it is now an autonomous public institution. It is one of the th ...

, and is also a curator who organises exhibitions either in France or abroad.

Biography

Bonafoux was born in Paris in 1949. After his doctoral dissertation ('Self-Portrait in Western Painting'), he resided at the

Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Med ...

in Italy from 1980 to 1981, where he wrote essays for the

and fell in love with this country – the genius of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially re ...

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was in ...

or Giuseppe Verdi; the beauty of its churches and palaces; the charm of its squares, terraces and alleys. Since then, he has continued to travel the peninsula to explore its rich art and culture. From 1987 to 1988, he directed the exhibition office of , which is a delegated operator of the

Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs () is the ministry of the Government of France that handles France's foreign relations. Since 1855, its headquarters have been located at 37 Quai d'Orsay, close to the National Assembly. The term Q ...

. He has curated various exhibitions devoted to

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally co ...

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

and

Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

, as well as those dedicated to the works of contemporary artists in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% o ...

, Dublin,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, East Asia, et cetera. In 1988 and 1990, he chaired the jury of the first two biennials of film about art at

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

. He became a councillor of several Slovakian ministers of culture after

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

in 1989, he received the ('Prize of the Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic') in 1991. As a journalist, he has collaborated with various newspapers and magazines, including '' Connaissance des Arts'', ''

L'ŒIL ''L'ŒIL'' (French: ''The Eye'') is a French magazine created by Rosamond Bernier (née Rosenbaum) and her second husband, Georges Bernier, in 1955 to celebrate and reflect contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced i ...

'', ''

L'OBS (), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécile ...

'', '' Le Magazine Littéraire'', ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' ... He is currently a columnist of the French magazine '. Bonafoux is also a professor who teaches art history at the Paris 8 University and has been leading conferences on topics related to art history for the reference organisation Clio, to quality audiences as well as to amateurs and the curious. He has published more than 20 books at

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by G ...

, including , a heavily illustrated book for the

pocket A pocket is a bag- or envelope-like receptacle either fastened to or inserted in an article of clothing to hold small items. Pockets are also attached to luggage, backpacks, and similar items. In older usage, a pocket was a separate small bag ...

collection "

Découvertes Gallimard (, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an Collection (publishing), editorial collection of Book illustration, illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in Pocket edition, ...

", which was one of the bestsellers in France.

Selected publications

* ''Portraits of the Artist: The Self-Portrait in Painting'', Rizzoli International Publications, 1985 * ''Rembrandt: Self-Portrait'', Rizzoli International Publications, 1985 * ''The Impressionists: Portraits and Confidences'', Rizzoli International Publications, 1986 * ''Van Gogh : Le soleil en face'', collection «

» (nº 17), série Arts. Éditions Gallimard, 1987 ** UK edition – ''Van Gogh: The Passionate Eye'', '

New Horizons ''New Horizons'' is an interplanetary space probe that was launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), with a t ...

' series, Thames & Hudson, 1992 ** US edition – ''Van Gogh: The Passionate Eye'', "

Abrams Discoveries Abrams may refer to: * Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname * '' Abrams v. United States'', 250 U.S. 616 (1919), U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding free speech during times of war * M1 Abrams, main battle tank * Abrams, W ...

" series. Harry N. Abrams, 1992 * ''Van Gogh: Self Portraits With Accompanying Letters from Vincent to His Brother Theo'', Wellfleet Press, 1989 * ''Rembrandt : Le clair, l'obscur'', collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 76), série Arts. Éditions Gallimard, 1990 ** UK edition – ''Rembrandt: Substance and Shadow'', 'New Horizons' series. Thames & Hudson, 1992 ** US edition – ''Rembrandt: Master of the Portrait'', "Abrams Discoveries" series. Harry N. Abrams, 1992 * ''A Weekend with Rembrandt'', Rizzoli, 1992 * ''Van Gogh'', Konecky & Konecky, 1998 * ''Vermeer'', William S. Konecky Associates, 1999 * ''Van Gogh : L'atelier d'Arles'', collection « Découvertes Gallimard Hors série ». Éditions Gallimard, 2002 * ''Autoportraits du XX^e siècle'', collection « Découvertes Gallimard Hors série ». Éditions Gallimard, 2004 * ''Chefs-d'œuvre de la Collection Phillips'', collection « Découvertes Gallimard Hors série ». Éditions Gallimard, 2005 * With David Rosenberg, ''Louvre Game Book: Play with the Largest Museum in the World'', Assouline Publishing, 2005 * With Catherine Alestchenkoff, ''Yves Clerc'', Skira, 2008 * With Gilles Targat, ''Behind the Scenes in Versailles'', Hachette-Livre, 2010 * ''Cézanne, portrait'', Hazan, 2011 * ''Rodin & Eros'', Thames & Hudson, 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonafoux, Pascal 1949 births French curators French art critics French art historians 20th-century French writers Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Rembrandt scholars Living people