Month: October 2017

At the initiative of the Direction des Affaires Culturelles, the Salle d’Expostion on Quai Antoine Ier welcomes an exhibition of photographs by Matthieu Ricard resulting from the personal journey of the famous Buddhist monk and neurobiologist in the Himalayan world.

A Buddhist monk, author, photographer, scientist and founder of humanitarian projects in Asia, Matthieu Ricard began taking pictures at the age of 10. He has said that he learns continuously by discovering the work of other photographers, among them Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams, Ernst Haas and Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

“A hymn to beauty … this is how I conceive my humble photographic work. During my fifty years in the Himalayas, I have had the immense fortune to live with great Tibetan masters.

“I was also able to discover the daily life of the Himalayan people, the intimacy of the monasteries, the immensity of the Tibetan highlands, the magnificence of the Nepalese mountains and the serenity of the Bhutanese valleys.”

His works have been the subject of numerous exhibitions all over the world, but also published extensively in magazines, such as National Geographic France, Animan, l’Express and Terre Sauvage.

“The spiritual life of Matthew and his camera are one. From there spring forth these fleeting and eternal images,” Henri Cartier Bresson wrote when the first collection of photos of the Spirit of Tibet was published.

“Half a century in the Himalayas: a hymn to beauty” runs until November 9 at the Salle d’Exposition (4 Quai Antoine Ier). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 1 pm to 7 pm.

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The 27th edition of the Monaco Yacht Show fulfilled all its promises and reflected a more buoyant market, supported notably by the strong attendance of American and Russian clients on the quays of Port Hercules to visit the 125 superyachts.

This year’s fleet was larger and younger – average length 49m, 50 percent of the yachts less than two years old – and according to Gaëlle Tallarida, Managing Director of the Show, it appealed to visitors right from the start: “The exhibitors were busy from Wednesday morning with business meetings on their stands and a full list of bookings for yacht visits.

“We felt that the whole industry was concerned by an event they’ve been preparing for months, with high trade expectations. By midday this impression was shared by all the different participants, brokers or shipyards who already confirmed negotiations with visitors interested in chartering or purchasing a yacht.”

Attendance at this year’s edition was higher than 2016 with 36,400 participants, up by eight percent, including an international business clientele but also private visitors invited by the MYS organisers via the Sapphire Experience programme.

One hundred and sixty ultra-qualified individuals enjoyed a bespoke stay in Monaco with visits to the superyachts displayed in Port Hercules. Around 400 appointments on board were scheduled with the yachts’ representatives; one “Sapphire Experience” guest has already placed an order for a yacht.

On the eve of the MYS, the second edition of the Monaco Yacht Summit welcomed some fifty potential new superyacht clients – or their representatives – to discuss the key information to be borne in mind when chartering or purchasing a luxury yacht for the first time.

The presence of these future owners or charterers in Port Hercules was the tangible result of the marketing and public relations actions managed by Gaëlle Tallarida and her team to promote encounters between the 580 exhibitors and new clients: “The Monaco Yacht Show has become a brand with a strong identity, clearly defined since the first edition in 1991.

“The MYS is unique in being the only hybrid show in the world exclusively dedicated to the universe of superyachting. We are proud to host both the B2B community today and tomorrow’s superyacht purchasers. They make a perfect fit.”

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Possibly the most important painting in the collection of Dmitry Rybolovlev, Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, is due to go on sale at a Christie’s auction on November 15. Described as the last da Vinci painting in private hands, the masterpiece, dating from about 1500, is expected to sell for about €110 million ($130 million).

Although the painting was once owned by King Charles I, its history includes a long period in which it was thought to be the work of one of da Vinci’s students. In 1958 the painting was sold in the UK for €50 (£45).

The reason for the sale is unclear, although Rybolovlev reportedly bought the painting for about €106 million through art dealer Yves Bouvier four years ago. The AS Monaco majority owner has since claimed that the Swiss dealer cheated him with huge and unknown mark-ups on a number of paintings, a charge that Bouvier has strongly denied. The row between the two has embroiled the former chief of Monaco’s judiciary, who resigned following press reports of his closeness to the Russian billionaire.

“Salvator Mundi is a painting of the most iconic figure in the world by the most important artist of all time,” Loic Gouzer, chairman of post-war and contemporary art for Christie’s New York, said in a statement released by the auction house.

Christie’s specialist Alan Wintermute has said that the sale of Salvator Mundi is a unique event. “It seemed just a tantalisingly unobtainable dream until now. To see a fully finished, late masterpiece by Leonardo, made at the peak of his genius, appear for sale in 2017 is as close as I’ve come to an Art World Miracle.”

Andy Warhol’s 1986 painting “Sixty Last Suppers” – based on Leonardo’s “Last Supper” masterpiece – also will be featured. Its estimate is around $42 million ($50 million).

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On Wednesday, October 4, Princess Stephanie was in Romania to unveil, along with Gabriela Firea, Mayor of Bucharest, a statue of Prince Rainier III on the Place du Cirque in the centre of the capital.

The monument was a fitting tribute to Prince Rainier, a great defender of the traditional circus. In 1974, the Prince created the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo to reinforce his commitment to the Arts.

Consequently, held every January over the past 43 years, the festival has continued to grow in its success.

Princess Stephanie, who inherited her father’s passion for the circus and is currently the President of the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo, ended her visit by meeting HRH Princess Margareta, daughter of King Michael, and her husband Prince Radu of Romania at the Royal Palace of Bucharest.

The Circus has a privileged place in Romanian culture and the Arts, which is why the city of Bucharest has honoured Prince Rainier.

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Gilles Tonelli, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, hosted a luncheon at the Hermitage Hotel on Thursday, October 12, for HE Deo Saran, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Fiji and HE Marcia Covarrubias, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Chile, who in the morning presented their Letters of Credentials to the Sovereign Prince.

HE Deo Saran was appointed CEO of Fiji Sugar Corporation in 2008. In 2010, he became a management consultant and then Ambassador for Climate at COP23. He is successively the Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, FAC and IFAD, Permanent Representative to the European Union, Non-Resident Ambassador to France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain Portugal, Luxembourg, Georgia, Greece and Morocco, Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and Head of Mission to the European Union. He is the first Ambassador of the Republic of Fiji in Monaco.

HE Marcia Covarrubias, began her diplomatic career in 1989, responsible for the formulation of Chile’s foreign policy with the Arab world. In 1990, she was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia and Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Chile to several countries. She successively held the posts of Ambassador in Algeria, with the Hellenic Republic and in Morocco. In 1996, she became Diplomatic Advisor to the Minister of the Economy, including Founder and General Director of the Greece-Latin America Business Council, UNDP Senior Expert for Transition in Tunisia, UN Senior Advisor to Tunis and Member of the UNESCO-ICHC Board for the MENA Region.

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