Exhibition honours Spain's ‘forgotten surrealist'
But a hot night of heavy drinking in 1938 in his Montparnasse studio proved fateful. He accidentally blinded the Romanian painter Victor Brauner in one eye when he threw a glass in defence of another artist. The affray contributed to the breakup of the surrealist group.
Such was Domínguez's bohemian cavorting that his 'excesses' overshadowed his art. So argues Isidro Hernández, the curator of an exhibition in Malaga that seeks to restore Domínguez to his 'rightful place' alongside Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí as one of the outstanding Spanish luminaries of the movement.
Domínguez may have agreed, but it was carousing that first liberated him to pursue painting. The son of a wealthy Canary Islands banana plantation owner, he arrived in Paris in 1925 at the age of 19 to sell his father's produce. 'I went on a binge for three months,' he recalled. 'Naturally, he fired me.'
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The Guardian
6 days ago
- The Guardian
The DJ who united the warring tribes of French rap and dance – and died tragically young
The late DJ Mehdi had a talent for bridging divides. At the height of the musician's fame, Mehdi's cousin Myriam Essadi recalls in a new documentary, he had to jet straight from a nightclub in Ibiza to his grandfather's funeral in Tunisia. 'He was wearing red glasses, white jeans and a jacket with a cross. In Tunisia! For our grandfather's funeral!' Essadi laughs. 'We didn't get it. And in Tunisia you don't mess with religion.' DJ Mehdi: Made in France, a six-part documentary now available with English subtitles on Franco-German broadcaster Arte, revisits the life and tragic death of one of the most fascinating, influential and misunderstood French musicians of his generation. International audiences largely know Mehdi, who died in 2011 at the age of 34, for his work with Parisian label Ed Banger in the 2000s, spearheading a new wave of French dance music alongside artists such as Justice – they of the cross logo on Mehdi's jacket – and SebastiAn. In France, however, his legacy is more complicated, opening up questions about the rift between hip-hop and dance music, as well as underlying divisions in French society. Born to a French-Tunisian family in the north-west suburbs of Paris in 1977, Mehdi Favéris-Essadi rose to prominence for his production work with rap group Ideal J and hip-hop collective Mafia K-1 Fry. His first big hits came with 113, a rap trio whose 1999 album Les Princes de la Ville is considered one of the most important albums of the decade in France. When Les Princes was released, dance music had already entered Mehdi's life via Cassius duo Philippe Zdar and Boombass, whom he worked with on MC Solaar's 1997 album Paradisiaque. Several of the leading producers of French house music had roots in hip-hop, including Pépé Bradock and Cassius themselves. But none were as well known within the rap world as Mehdi, and his pivot was not always warmly received. 'You couldn't switch from rap to electro or vice versa. In the other world, you weren't legitimate,' Essadi explains in the documentary. In the US, hip-hop and dance music were initially closely linked, sharing roots in soul and funk music as well as production methods, a connection Mehdi appreciated when he heard Daft Punk's 1997 album Homework. 'I thought: 'That's funny, we use the same machines, the same samplers, they live just around the corner, they're about my age, that could have been me,'' Mehdi says in an archival clip. By the late 90s hip-hop had risen to such prominence in the US that its leading artists tended to view dance music as a forgotten fad, if they thought about it at all. In the UK the opposite was true, with strength of British dance music eclipsing domestic hip-hop. In France, homegrown rap was extremely strong in the late 1990s. In the media, however, it was often vilified, while dance music was viewed as the next big thing, thanks to the rise of acts like Daft Punk, Étienne de Crécy and Cassius. The tension between two types of music and their various associations – Parisian elite v working class, city v suburbs – was palpable. 'In 1997, if 47 guys and girls from [Paris suburb] Bobigny wanted to get into the Queen club [a Paris club known for house music] they couldn't,' Boombass says in the documentary. 'To them we were just guys who smoked weed, only good for a bank robbery or to deal drugs to them,' Essadi adds. ''You're from the suburbs.' That meant many different things to people from central Paris who went to the Palace club or to Bains Douche to listen to dance music.' When Mehdi tried to bridge this gap – for example, with the Kraftwerk-sampling beat for 113's Ouais Gros – the response was often negative. 'When people heard it they thought: 'Who are these guys hardcore rapping to music like this? I don't get it,'' 113's AP says in the documentary. 'I remember people stopping me in the streets, people from the rap world saying: 'What's Mehdi doing? Talk to him! What's this new music, this crazy music,'' Essadi recounts. Mehdi would go on to have huge success in electronic music off the back of the release of Signatune in 2007. 'Signatune was soon being played by the most well-known DJs all across the globe and promoters all wanted to book DJ Mehdi for their events,' former Daft Punk manager Pedro Winter explains in Made in France. The final part of the documentary shows footage of Mehdi's international success, DJing at huge clubs and festivals alongside the Ed Banger crew to adoring, hedonistic crowds. It comes in sharp contrast to scenes of poverty and crime, burnt cars and drab suburban tower blocks, that mark the documentary's first two episodes, examining Mehdi's roots in hip-hop and the unfashionable outskirts of Paris. Mehdi died on 13 September 2011 at the height of his international fame, when the skylight on the roof of his Paris home collapsed as he was celebrating the birthday of British producer Riton. 'Four of them were sat on this … glass, sort of, roof,' Riton says in the documentary. 'They just got to stand up, that's when it like … made the roof collapse through. Then the next thing, we were just looking through this hole at this horrific scene.' Tributes to Mehdi came in from the elite of the global dance music world, including US dubstep artist Skrillex and Ed Simons from the Chemical Brothers. And yet, for people in France in particular, this was only half the story. 'Internationally [Mehdi's] probably best known as one of the frontrunners of the Ed Banger crew that defined an entire era,' Canadian DJ A-trak says at the end of the documentary. 'But, of course, he has a huge legacy as the king of French hip-hop production and even just someone who brought together these unlikely pairings of scenes.' 'He helped us evolve our music over time,' 113's Mokobé adds. 'It's thanks to him that there are no limits, no bars, no borders for us … This is what his music was all about; no bars, no barriers, no border.' DJ Mehdi: Made in France is available to watch on Arte from 1 August
The Independent
6 days ago
- The Independent
Eagle-eyed buyer snaps up £30k Dalí painting for £150 at house clearance sale
A Salvador Dalí painting, initially acquired for a mere £150 at a house clearance sale, has been authenticated as an original and is now valued at up to £30,000. The mixed media piece was purchased by an anonymous art dealer. They later discovered it had been previously offered for sale at Sotheby's in the 1990s, fully attributed to Dalí. The artwork is set to be auctioned by Cambridgeshire auctioneers Cheffins on 23 October. Gabrielle Downie, an associate at Cheffins, said the loss of an attribution is 'quite rare in the modern art world', making it a 'significant' rediscovery. 'To handle a genuine rediscovery of a work by who is easily one of the most famous artists in the world, and the godfather of Surrealism, is a real honour.' Having the painting authenticated again was an 'exciting process', she said. Vecchio Sultano by Salvador Dalí is to be offered for sale by Cheffins auctioneers with an estimate of £20,000 to £30,000 'It is a testament to the sellers' significant art knowledge that he was able to spot this picture at a house clearance sale. 'While Dalí's work is often some of the most recognisable, this is an unusual piece which shows a different side to his practice when working in watercolour.' The artwork, titled Vecchio Sultano , was discovered in a Cambridge-based house clearance sale in 2023. It has been certified as authentic by Dalí expert Nicolas Descharnes and has a pre-sale estimate of £20,000 to £30,000. The image, made with watercolour paint and felt tip, measures 38cm by 29cm. It is an illustration of a scene from The Arabian Nights , a series of 500 pieces which Dali intended to create of Middle Eastern folktales, which was commissioned by wealthy Italian couple Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto. The painting has been certified as authentic by Dalí expert Nicolas Descharnes Ms Downie said: 'The Albarettos who commissioned this work had initially asked Dalí to illustrate a bible in 1963, but upon Dalí's insistence, he instead ended up illustrating scenes from 1,001 Nights – a collection of Middle Eastern folktales. 'It seems Dalí was fascinated with Moorish culture and believed himself to be from a Moorish line. 'It seems that this project was abandoned, with Dalí only having completed 100 of the intended 500 works. 'Of these 100, half remained with the publishing house Rizzoli and were either damaged or lost; the other 50 stayed with the Albarettos and were later inherited by their daughter, Christina, who was also Dalí's goddaughter. 'It is the 50 that were retained by the family that were published in 2016 by the Folio Society. 'I think, given that Dalí engineered the commission to suit his whims, that he very much enjoyed this project and the subject matter. 'It is most likely that the work in question came from the batch of 50 which were retained and later lost by the publishers.'
The Guardian
6 days ago
- The Guardian
Salvador Dalí painting bought for £150 at house clearance sale valued at £20-30,000
It is not a painting that screams it is a masterpiece by Salvador Dalí to the untrained eye. So when the unusual picture went up for auction in a house clearance sale in Cambridge two years ago, it attracted just two bidders – and sold for £150. Now, it has been valued at £20,000 to £30,000 after it was confirmed to be an illustration of an 'old sultan' that Dalí painted in 1966. Vecchio Sultano, a mixed media artwork made with watercolour paint and felt-tip, is an illustration of a scene from The Arabian Nights – one of 500 illustrations which the great surrealist artist intended to create of the Middle Eastern folktales. 'Dalí was quite obsessed with Moorish culture and believed himself to be from a Moorish line,' said Gabrielle Downie, a fine art specialist at Cheffins in Cambridge, which is selling the Dalí artwork on 23 October. Dalí's patrons, Giuseppe and Mara Albaretto, commissioned the illustrations and Rizzoli, an Italian publishing house, was planning to publish them. But Dalí abandoned the project after completing just 100 of the 500 illustrations – leaving all of them unpublished. 'Of these 100 illustrations, half remained with the publishing house Rizzoli and were either damaged or lost, while the other 50 stayed with the Albarettos and were later inherited by their daughter, Christina – who was also Dalí's goddaughter,' said Downie. The 50 illustrations retained by the Albaretto family were finally published in 2014, reigniting interest in the abandoned project and raising intrigue over the whereabouts of the unpublished pieces. However, Cambridge-based antiques dealer John Russell (not his real name), 60, was unaware of this two years ago when he snapped up Vecchio Sultano at a house clearance sale after spotting Dalí's signature in the bottom right corner. 'The auction isn't online, so you turn up, view, and whatever you see, [that] is your chance to discover a treasure,' he said. 'Most of the time, I buy stuff that I like. On this occasion, I was really taking a bit of a punt, because I wasn't sure I'd have it on the wall, to be honest … I do like some unusual art, but you'd have to love it, wouldn't you?' He was told the painting had been found in the garage of a London house and could barely contain his excitement when he saw stickers on the back, indicating it had been listed in a Sotheby's auction in the 1990s. 'I did a little bit of research and I couldn't believe what I was looking at.' He decided to bid for it 'on the spur of the moment', gambling on his ability to spot a fake after spending years avidly watching the BBC TV show Fake or Fortune. 'It's one of my favourite programmes.' The painting, which depicts a bejewelled sultan, did not command widespread admiration: despite being described as an original painting by Dalí, the vendors 'hadn't even listed it with a reserve [price]', he said, and 'there was no interest in the room' from other dealers Russell knew. Just one person bid against him during the auction – and dropped out when Russell offered £150. A few months later, via eBay in the US, he tracked down the relevant Sotheby's sale catalogue which listed the 38cm x 29cm painting and demonstrated it had been previously identified as Dalí's work and asked Cheffins to value it. Cheffins then consulted the renowned Dalí expert Nicolas Descharnes, who certified the painting as authentic. He told the Guardian the style, subject and colours of the illustration matched those of other pieces in the series, along with the quality and size of the paper. 'People expect to see very surrealist pieces by Dalí. This one is not surrealist, but it's a Dalí,' Descharnes said.
