Not content to just get headlines for Jean Cocteau and Nelson Henricks, the Musee des Beaux-Arts de Montreal puts the full weight of the publicity department on Le Devoir, and successfully gets the last of their three summer shows into print, phew! I was worried their for an instant. M. Hellman writes 674 word article that on first blush, doesn't strike me as a topic worthy of being written about. Mr. Dürer is dead as a doornail and not-Canadian as Kraft Cheese, he doesn't care if he gets a review. The show is from the National Gallery in Ottawa, so it ain't like there's a local curator who needs an ego boost. The show started in April (and last I looked we're in July) so it ain't exactly breaking news. And while I am not familiar with the Dürer holdings of the National Gallery, I can't imagine that the best of his output would be here in Canada, so yeah, it's nice to have an opportunity to see some of the lesser works of an important artist, but this strikes me a smacking of politics. I can't imagine that Ms. Bronfman's donation had anything to do with this review.
That all being said, as it is in print, lets get to the meat of the matter, shall we?
M. Hellman uses his first paragraph to give an introduction to the reader as to the importance and significance of Mr. Dürer. Strange, as I thought that Le Devoir was the Paper of Record for the intelligentsia in Quebec, why would they need to have an introduction to Mr. Dürer, if they already know everything about him?
He then goes on to say "Le parcours rassemble 24 impressions de ses oeuvres les plus célèbres..." or in blokespeak, the show groups together 24 of Mr. Dürer's most significant prints. Nice of him to beat people over the head with how important this stuff is. Maybe the museum ain't getting enough traffic and that's why there's this review.
Article Author: Zeke's Gallery, Montreal
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