Pierre Cabanne (September 23, 1921, in

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

– January 24, 2007, in

Meudon Meudon () is a French Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, on the left bank of the Seine. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of P ...

) was a French art historian. He is best remembered for his extensive research and writings on the

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

of painters

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints, and drawings. Degas is e ...

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

, and

Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

. He also authored a book on his interviews with

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...

Biography

A journalist, Pierre Cabanne contributes to

Combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

and the daily

Le Matin de Paris ''Le Matin de Paris'' (, ''The Morning of Paris'') was a French daily newspaper, founded on 1 March 1977 by Claude Perdriel, and disappearing in 1987 ("dépôt de bilan" on 6 May). Its foundation is the subject of the documentary ''Numéros zéro ...

, as well as to numerous art magazines and the radio station

France Culture France Culture () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist ...

. A great specialist in

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

, to whom he dedicated a sum (Le Siècle de Picasso, 1979, four volumes), he left a large number of books covering the history of art, particularly

Contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

. In 1966, he published a book of Entretiens avec

, shortly before the artist's death. His books are based on extensive documentation and research, such as La Chambre de

Joë Bousquet Joë Bousquet (; 19 March 1897 – 28 September 1950) was a French poet. Bousquet was born in Narbonne. Wounded on 27 May 1918 at Vailly near the Aisne battlelines at the end of the First World War, he was paralysed for the rest of his life, and ...

, located in Carcassonne, in which he investigates a famous Surrealist collection dispersed in the 1950s. In La Main et l'esprit (2002), he examines the relationship between artists and writers from the

18th century The 18th century lasted from 1 January 1701 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCI) to 31 December 1800 (MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the Atlantic Revolutions. Revolutions began to ch ...

to the present day. He is also interested in Les Grands Collectionneurs (2004). Pierre Cabanne also knows how to be a polemicist, as in Merde aux critiques (1993), which examines “the tribulations of art criticism from

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...

to Pierre Ménard”, or in his essay Le Pouvoir culturel sous la Ve République (1981), which he refused to update beyond 1981 despite repeated requests from his friends. Professor at the

École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs The École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (; ÉnsAD) also known as Arts Decos' and École des Arts décoratifs, is a public grande école of art and design, constituent member of PSL Research University. The school is located in the R ...

in Paris, he is the author of popular works such as the Guide des musées de France (1984), which describes 2,000 establishments and won the national tourist guide prize, the Dictionnaire des arts (2000), and the Dictionnaire des petits maîtres de la peinture (2003), in collaboration with Gérald Schurr. In 2016, a conference organized by the Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art was held in Paris, entitled “Pierre Cabanne, un critique et ses archives”. He is buried in the Fanjeaux(Aude) cemetery.

References

1921 births 2007 deaths French art historians {{France-historian-stub