French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Arikha, Painting and Gaze: Writings on Art, 1965-2009
Art and Visual Culture
Avigdor Arikha, Peinture et regard. Écrits sur l'art, 1965-2009, Éditions Hermann, "Savoir Arts" collection, 2010. EAN13: 9782705670788.
New edition, revised, corrected, and expanded in collaboration with Guillaume de Sardes
ISBN: 978 27056 7078 8 – 432 pages – 15 x 21 cm – 47 black-and-white illustrations – 32 € – 1st edition: Hermann, 1991
Overview:
“Avigdor Arikha and I worked on the expanded edition of Peinture et regard during 2009. He attached great importance to it. For while he was a painter, he also saw himself as an art historian, thus reviving the tradition of the scholarly Renaissance artists. We had barely finished selecting and revising the twelve texts he wished to add when he fell gravely ill. I therefore had to design the layout of the book alone, as he had wished, dividing his texts into two parts: on the one hand, those dealing specifically with artists and their works; on the other, those addressing the major issues of art in a way that is both more general and personal. In the latter, the artist's voice is heard at least as much as that of the art historian, so that many of Arikha's aesthetic choices are implicitly justified here. Within these two major parts, I preferred to present his texts chronologically rather than thematically, so that the progression of his thought could be appreciated. Arikha died on April 29, 2010. What remains are his works—paintings, drawings, pastels, prints, etc., scattered throughout the world's finest museums—as well as this book. It stands as a testament to his passion for both ancient and modern art. It gathers everything he deemed worthy of preserving from his literary output.”
Guillaume de Sardes, “Publisher's Note” in Peinture et regard, 2011 edition
Author:
Avigdor Arikha (1929-2010) was clearly one of the great painters of our time. A close friend of Samuel Beckett and a portraitist of, among others, Queen Elizabeth and Catherine Deneuve, he was also an art historian admired by his peers.
In Peinture et regard, he examines the work of eminent artists, bringing both the historian's and the artist's eye to the world of art. Aside from major figures like Rubens and Velázquez, Arikha also writes about painters for whom he felt more esteem than affinity; but his ultimate goal in writing was to inspire people to look at the works he discusses, and thus help them learn how to see.
Renowned for his exceptional erudition, Arikha was commissioned by several major institutions (including the Louvre, the Frick Collection in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and many others) to curate new, more detailed presentations of works by Poussin or Ingres.
By combining the practical experience of a working painter with the rigorous methodology of an art historian, Avigdor Arikha revives a classical lineage of artist-scholars. In Peinture et regard, the concept of the gaze is treated not as a passive reception of images, but as an active, intellectual discipline that must be cultivated. Arikha bridges the gap between the physical creation of art and its historical analysis, offering readers a rare dual perspective. His essays situate modern aesthetic dilemmas within a broader historical continuum, tracing how visual languages evolve from the Renaissance masters to the twentieth century.
This volume is particularly valuable for art historians, practicing artists, and students of visual culture who wish to understand the mechanics of artistic perception. Arikha addresses fundamental questions about how we look at paintings, how to interpret the choices of past masters, and how an artist's personal practice influences their critical judgment. By examining figures such as Nicolas Poussin, Peter Paul Rubens, and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, the book serves as a practical guide to visual literacy. It ultimately helps readers move beyond casual observation to develop a deeper, more analytical appreciation of the visual arts.