Antiques Fair

[SergeiSK]

Today in Brussels, opened the first antique fair in 2011 - BRAFA. It brought together 130 galleries from Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands and other European countries. Russian galleries there, but the Russian art is still represented.

Brussels antiques & fine arts fair (BRAFA) - one of the oldest European antique fairs, which took place more or less in Brussels last half century. But since 2004, when the national association of antique and art dealers of Belgium has decided to organize it in a new place, has blossomed. Rearranged postal warehouses on the canal bank Vilbruk bring fair fortune, and the ability to increase the number of participants and the stand. Now the number of galleries peaked - their 130, about half - Belgian.

High status of many of the participants is beyond doubt - here come the Belgian Bernard de Leye (gallery president fairs), Axel Vervoordt (stands which is always fantastic, and eclectic), Berko Fine Paintings (which shows the charming bourgeois painting XIX century). List galleries dealing with antique and ancient art, is headed by the Geneva-New York-based Phoenix Ancient Art, in the section of the old masters reigns Paris De Jonckheere. For the first time decided to take part in the fair gallery Christian Deydier (specializes in Asian art and belongs to the former president of the Paris Biennale of Antiquaries), and having probably the largest stock of antique furniture in the world of Parisian Steinitz. Feature of the fair (and Belgian taste in collecting) is the abundance of galleries dealing with comic books and African art. Prices here more democratic than the largest trade fairs in Paris Biennale des antiquaires and Dutch TEFAF; last year, the most expensive product (of course, Pablo Picasso) worth € 2 million

On the stands of participants catches and Russian art. Last year BRAFA attended the Paris Galerie le Minotaure c artists of the Parisian school of Russian origin and the Moscow-London Ravenscourt Galleries with works of Russian XX-XXI centuries. This year they refused to participate, but there was a young London gallery Aktis, which in the framework of European modernism show and the works of Russian - or associated with the Russian - masters. On the stand of the gallery will be, for example, large (meter and a half), a sketch for Diaghilev's ballet "The Legend of Joseph" in 1914, created by Pierre Bonnard. The ballet dancing, Leonid Massine - and a sketch, unusually vibrant for meditative creativity Bonnard, captures precisely its plasticity. Nearby you can see and example of Russian Paris school - "Self-portrait on a background of African masks," Maria Vasilyeva.
Tatiana Markina
The newspaper Kommersant »№ 9 (4550) on 21.01.2011