Charles Saatchi to explore greatest art masterpieces in weekly column for The Telegraph

The Telegraph today announced that the one of the world’s greatest art experts, Charles Saatchi, has been commissioned to write a weekly column on art masterpieces.

Charles Saatchi’s Great Masterpieces promises to take Telegraph readers inside the world of art masterpieces. Examining some of the great paintings of all time, Saatchi will reveal the backstory and history behind the canvas.

The first column will be published tomorrow, Tuesday 11 July, exploring Frida Kahlo’s ‘The Two Fridas’, completed shortly after the artist’s divorce from acclaimed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera.

The first ten Great Masterpieces Saatchi will provide insight into are:

The Two Fridas by Frida Kahlo The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez The Night Watch by Rembrandt The Burial of the Count of Orgaz by El Greco Olympia by Édouard Manet A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte by Georges Seurat Rain, Steam and Speed by J.M.W. Turner Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent by Francis Bacon Les Demoiselles d’Avignon by Pablo Picasso

Charles Saatchi said: “I’ve always been fascinated by the origins of truly great masterpieces, wondering what inspired the artist behind them to create their vision. In my new weekly series in The Telegraph, I look forward to sharing my passion for world-renowned artworks, revealing insight into the artist’s lives and their paintings.”

Jane Bruton, Deputy Editor & Director of Lifestyle, The Telegraph, said: “There is no one better than Charles Saatchi to offer expertise on the world’s best masterpieces. His column will be an essential and fascinating read and enhances The Telegraph’s arts and culture coverage.”

About Charles Saatchi:

Charles Saatchi has been one of the moving forces of the modern age. He is the most important art collector of our time and he has vigorously shaped the contemporary art scene while contradictorily remaining a reclusive, even elusive figure who famously refuses to be interviewed. He was selected by the BBC as one of 60 ‘New Elizabethans’ who have most influenced the past 60 years.

Charles Saatchi founded the global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi in 1970 which grew to become the largest agency in the world. At the same time Saatchi began collecting art and later opened his first gallery a 30,000 square foot ex-paint factory in Boundary Road, London. His exhibitions have always focused on contemporary artists and Saatchi’s Sensation exhibition of Young British Artists in 1997 at the Royal Academy, London and at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York sparked an explosion of controversy.

The 70,000 square foot Saatchi Gallery in the Duke of York’s HQ Kings Road is one of the largest showcases of contemporary art in the world. It has hosted ten of the fifteen most visited exhibitions in London in the Art Newspaper annual museum surveys, and is the world’s top ranked museum in social media followers.

ENDS