What to do this weekend? A doubtful Venus, another electric and the clash of two titans: cultural advice from Le Figaro

Create a canvas, relax in front of a documentary on replay, listen to the latest album that you shouldn’t miss or immerse yourself in a thick novel. Great program for a weekend that clears the spirits by putting a little culture into our lives. To guide you, every week, journalists from the Culture department of Figaro, of Literary a you TV Magazine offer you some ideas. To consume without moderation.

At the Louvre, the Michelangelo-Rodin face-off

On one side the dark patina of bronzes and terracottas. On the other, the whiteness of plaster and marble. And in between, on papers, many of their divine sketches. What a song and counter-song is this dialogue imagined over the centuries between two of the most terrible giants of forms: the carver Michelangelo (1475-1564) and the modeler Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)! From the rotunda of the Napoléon hall of the Louvre, the harmony is obvious; we would like to take a thousand photos, each angle, each point of view seeming full of grace or power. And the alloy holds together, from start to finish, without any rivalry. But, quite the contrary, a way of communion.

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Because the aspiration to make matter spiritual is similar. The same respect for the ancient model, the same keen observation of nature, brings these two even closer together. Finally, note above all their unquenchable faith in life. As for the double inventory of passions that constitute these bodies and these couples, it does not leave us unscathed. Because we are going to the worst cruelty (Two men fighting by Michelangelo or theUgolin condemned to devour his children In Hell of Dante revisited by Rodin), to the pure spontaneity of the amorous impulse (see the Our Lady of Medicine or The Kiss among other examples). The fact remains that here thought is the first to be celebrated since it too is eminently human. Think, for one, of his effigy of Julien de Médicis ou à son Davidfor the other, à son Thinker ou à son Balzac.

» Until July 20. www.louvre.fr

On TV, in the dark corners of the art market

A prince of Europe, an opinionated judge, merchants who are not always attentive, experts in battle, shady intermediaries, incredible paintings. And, in the middle, a character full of mysteries. Such is the distribution of this crazy affair which has shaken the European art market for a decade. So who is Giuliano Ruffini, who released unparalleled works in the early 2000s, attracting rich collectors and leading museums? This delicate Venus attributed to Lucas Cranach, achetée 7 million by Philip de Liechtenstein, is this a fake? From now on there is a stupéfiant David leaning on the head of Goliath, painted on lapis lazuli, by the hand of Orazio Gentileschi? And what can we say about this portrait of a gentleman which bears the monogram of Frans Hals? Or this other one by Velázquez? All were put on the market by this Italian octogenarian, raised in the slums of post-war Paris, married to a rich French heiress who made his fleeting fortune. According to the protagonists, questioned in detail, some had doubts at the time of the transactions. Doubts quickly swept away in the face of the millions of euros of these great deals. The very detailed letter from a crow shattered the meager certainties, opening the door to police searches and summons before the judge. According to him, Giuliano Ruffini is at the heart of a fraudulent system which fooled the Met, the Louvre and the National Gallery. Suspicious provenances, fragile attributions, forgeries of genius… The trails intertwine and intertwine, each speaker bringing his piece of truth to a puzzle that this documentary tries to reconstruct. The investigative exercise is all the more fascinating as the courts are still examining the case. It’s up to the viewer to form their own opinion while waiting for the verdict.

»The Painter, the Pizza and the Raven: scandal in the art world, documentary by Sophie Maurer and Giacomo Minoia in three episodes. In replays on Arte.tv

O cinema, The Electric Venus

Fantasy is a rare commodity in cinema. All the more reason to applaud the screening, at the opening of the festival, of The Electric Venus by Pierre Salvadori, who hides under his burlesque airs this hint of grace inseparable from any successful comedy. There is talk of tables in The Electric Venusthose painted by Antoine, or rather those that Antoine (Pio Marmaï) no longer paints since the premature death of his companion and muse, Irène (Vimala Pons). Desperate, the artist goes to a clairvoyant to try to contact the missing being.

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He comes across Suzanne (Anaïs Demoustier), the famous “electric Venus”. It doesn’t take long for her to fool him. Anaïs Demoustier shines in the role of this fairground girl propelled as confidante and shrink, an acrobat by default battered by life and determined to escape her condition. Gilles Lellouche also has his buried secret. If Pierre Salvadori’s cinema is distinguished by its chiseled dialogues, the tone is never accusatory. The lies take on water, the masks fall, the illusions are less beautiful than reality. F. D.

At the record store, Window Tax de Maxwell Farrington & Le SuperHomard

Already a third album for this duo as unique as it is unusual. With, on vocals, an Australian exiled in Saint-Brieuc, and, on music, the Frenchman Christophe Vaillant, aka the Super Homard, gifted multi-instrumentalist. Paul Weller, Modfather and godfather of Britpop, has already said all the good things he thinks of this project, born in 2021. It must be said that this association does not lack charm when we appreciate orchestral pop and crooners. The songs on this album, very well written, often evoke those that Neil Hannon has been weaving for over thirty years within The Divine Comedy. Like him, the two protagonists claim to be Lee Hazlewood, Burt Bacharach and Scott Walker. We have had worse references. After Once, in 2021, and the album Please, Wait…, recorded with musicians from the Opera and the Nancy Conservatory in 2024, Window Tax – which designates restaurant seats located near windows – confirms the sustainability of this association which was to To be ephemeral. This new album was recorded in England, in Margate, under the leadership of Mike Lindsay, co-founder of Tunng and winner of the 2009 Mercury Prize for his work on the album. Speech Therapy by Speech Debelle. Hours of pleasure are to be expected listening to this exceptional record. ON

At the bookseller, Un été tombé du ciel by Pauline Dalmais

Ah summer! Its warm wind, its green lawns… and its “Laide light”HAS ! Nono is a little girl who doesn’t like heat at all. She’s sweating, the ground is too yellow, the air is too dusty, everything is heavy. Let her be left in her room, she sulks. But now a cloud appears. No, two, three! It’s the storm, “cotton ogres invade all space”. The vacationers grimace, except Nono who runs, who dances like a kite. “The sky is wonderful,” writes Pauline Dalmais. And it’s true. You have to see his watercolor illustrations, his pink, yellow, indigo landscapes, which literally make our heads spin, while the rain falls horizontally. Under her little fine lines like the droplets overflowing from the pages, Nono roars with pleasure alongside her mother. We marvel, we laugh, we turn the album over and over again, captivated by so much beauty. What more can I say? We read that Pauline Dalmais signs her first youth album here. It’s a real and great success. A. D.

»ÂThe stormy little girl by Pauline Dalmais, éd. Paulsen, 48 p., 19 €.