Paris Tableau—the Old Master fair that closed two days early this year after the terrorist attacks in the capital on 13 November—will become part of the Biennale des Antiquaires, which will be held annually at the Grand Palais.
The 28th edition of the Biennale—the historic jewellery, art and antiques fair—is scheduled to open next autumn (10-18 September 2016) with Henri Loyrette, the former president of the Louvre, at the helm.
“The decision to make the Biennale annual, to revise its organisation and the establishment of an independent vetting committee overseen by Henri Loyrette… were considered by the members of Paris Tableau as positive signs of the revival of Paris as the capital of the arts,” the organisers said in a statement.
Paris Tableau was founded in 2011 by a consortium of mainly Paris-based dealers—including Galerie Eric Coatalem and Galerie Canesso—who said at the time that no art fair catered specifically for the Old Masters market.
Twenty-two exhibitors from France, Spain and the UK participated in the first Paris Tableau; for the 2015 edition, which included 25 galleries, organisers extended the cut-off date of works on display from 1850 to 1900.
Maurizio Canesso, the founder of Galerie Canesso, says: “It is logical that the two organisations team up so that we can focus our energies and expertise on again making Paris a market hub for antiques and classic paintings. It would be counterproductive to hold Paris Tableau only two months after La Biennale.”
The London-based dealer Mark Weiss, who took part in the 2015 edition, says: “Although Paris Tableau was a great concept, it never gained enough traction to encourage a truly international clientele to visit. Ultimately it proved to be too parochial with a limited audience and very thin sales, so it became increasingly difficult to justify the expense of exhibiting there. So melding it into the revised and revamped former Biennale was as much by necessity as choice. However, whilst the Biennale has historically attracted a truly international clientele, the fair has suffered from being more for jewellery, furniture and decorative arts than Old Masters.”
Lucie Agache, writing in the French magazine Connaissance des Arts, says that the rival fair Frieze Masters in London, which drew 13 Old Masters galleries in October, had a major impact on the latest edition of Paris Tableau (12-13 November).