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Nude seductresses go face to face in Venice

Two naked seductresses separated by three centuries of history went face to face for the first time in Venice on Wednesday in an exhibition devoted to French painter Edouard Manet with his "Olympia" alongside Titian's "Venus of Urbino".

Nude seductresses go face to face in Venice
Photo (left): Manet's Olympia. Photo (right): Titian's Venus of Urbino

Manet completed his painting of a prostitute being waited on by a black maid in 1863 – a controversial masterpiece which caused a stir at the time but was largely inspired by old master Titian's own ground-breaking work from 1538.

"Olympia" usually hangs in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and the painting has never left France. It was driven to Italy for the show and then ferried across the Venice lagoon to St Mark's Square on a barge to be exhibited in the Ducal Palace.

The works were "scandalous" in their times, said Guy Cogeval, head of the Musee d'Orsay.

And they still have the capacity to shock.

"Olympia" was not used in publicity posters because of local sensitivities in Venice.

"I didn't want to put 'Olympia' next to St Mark's Basilica, out of respect," said Gabriella Belli, director of Venice's museums and a co-curator of the show together with the Musee d'Orsay.

The exhibition entitled: "Manet: The Return to Venice" is organised by the city in conjunction with the Musee d'Orsay and features 23 paintings and 20 sketches by the French painter (1832-1883).

They are hung alongside 80 works by Italian Old Masters including Carpaccio, Guardi and Lotto — a way of underlining Manet's Italian inspiration, which is only now being fully appreciated.

"Italy was a fertile, stable and permanent inspiration for Manet's genius," said Stephane Guegan, a consultant for the show.

"It was impossible to say this for a long time since his influence by Spain is always put forward," Guegan said.

The exhibition lasts until August 18th.

During a trip to Florence in 1857, Manet painted a reproduction of Titian's "Venus of Urbino" — which still hangs today in the Uffizi Gallery.

Bringing the Titian to Venice "required the help of Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius", Belli said.

She said the loans of "Olympia" and the "Venus of Urbino" from their respective museums were linked.

"One would not have come without the other."

Cogeval said that to avoid controversy on the departure of "Olympia" from France for the first time he "got permission from French President Francois Hollande" – even though an authorisation from the culture ministry would have sufficed.

The moment the painting was lifted with a crane from a barge moored at St Mark's Square was particularly stressful, said Jean Naudin, in charge of international exhibitions at the Musee d'Orsay.

Belli said she appreciated "Olympia" – "a modern woman, petite but full of energy and character".

But Cogeval said he had been "overcome" by Titian's work.

"It is one of the most beautiful paintings in the world," he said.

Guegan said the "Venus of Urbino", which was commissioned by the duke of Urbino following his marriage, had more than a purely aesthetic intent.

"The painting was meant for the bedroom and was intended as a stimulation for the couple," he said.

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ART

African-born director’s new vision for Berlin cultural magnet

One of the rare African-born figures to head a German cultural institution, Bonaventure Ndikung is aiming to highlight post-colonial multiculturalism at a Berlin arts centre with its roots in Western hegemony.

African-born director's new vision for Berlin cultural magnet

The “Haus der Kulturen der Welt” (House of World Cultures), or HKW, was built by the Americans in 1956 during the Cold War for propaganda purposes, at a time when Germany was still divided.

New director Ndikung said it had been located “strategically” so that people on the other side of the Berlin Wall, in the then-communist East, could see it.

This was “representing freedom” but “from the Western perspective”, the 46-year-old toldĀ AFP.

Now Ndikung, born in Cameroon before coming to study in Germany 26 years ago, wants to transform it into a place filled with “different cultures of the world”.

The centre, by the river Spree, is known locally as the “pregnant oyster” due to its sweeping, curved roof. It does not have its own collections but is home to exhibition rooms and a 1,000-seat auditorium.

It reopened in June after renovations, and Ndikung’s first project “Quilombismo” fits in with his aims of expanding the centre’s offerings.

The exhibition takes its name from the Brazilian term “Quilombo”, referring to the communities formed in the 17th century by African slaves, who fled to remote parts of the South American country.

Throughout the summer, there will also be performances, concerts, films, discussions and an exhibition of contemporary art from post-colonial societies across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.

‘Rethink the space’

“We have been trying to… rethink the space. We invited artists to paint walls… even the floor,” Ndikung said.

And part of the “Quilombismo” exhibition can be found glued to the floor -African braids laced together, a symbol of liberation for black people, which was created by Zimbabwean artist Nontsikelelo Mutiti.

According to Ndikung, African slaves on plantations sometimes plaited their hair in certain ways as a kind of coded message to those seeking to escape, showing them which direction to head.

READ ALSO: Germany hands back looted artefacts to Nigeria

His quest for aestheticism is reflected in his appearance: with a colourful suit and headgear, as well as huge rings on his fingers, he rarely goes unnoticed.

During his interview with AFP, Ndikung was wearing a green scarf and cap, a blue-ish jacket and big, sky-blue shoes.

With a doctorate in medical biology, he used to work as an engineer before devoting himself to art.

In 2010, he founded the Savvy Gallery in Berlin, bringing together art from the West and elsewhere, and in 2017 was one of the curators of Documenta, a prestigious contemporary art event in the German city of Kassel.

Convinced of the belief that history “has been written by a particular type of people, mostly white and men,” Ndikung has had all the rooms in the HKW renamed after women.

These are figures who have “done something important in the advancement of the world” but were “erased” from history, he added. Among them is Frenchwoman Paulette Nardal, born in Martinique in 1896.

She helped inspire the creation of the “negritude” movement, which aimed to develop black literary consciousness, and was the first black woman to study at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Reassessing history

Ndikung’s appointment at the HKW comes as awareness grows in Germany about its colonial past, which has long been overshadowed by the atrocities committed during the era of Adolf Hitler’s Nazis.

Berlin has in recent years started returning looted objects to African countries which it occupied in the early 20th century — Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia and Cameroon.

“It’s long overdue,” said Ndikung.

He was born in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, into an anglophone family.

The country is majority francophone but also home to an anglophone minority and has faced deadly unrest in English-speaking areas, where armed insurgents are fighting to establish an independent homeland.

One of his dreams is to open a museum in Cameroon “bringing together historical and contemporary objects” from different countries, he said.

He would love to locate it in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s restive Northwest region.

“But there is a war in Bamenda, so I can’t,” he says.

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