Del Duca Foundation Announces 2020 Painting Prize Winners

The Simone et Cino Del Duca Foundation has restructured its Grand Prix artistique, now awarding four mid-career artists instead of a single established figure. The 2020 prize, dedicated to painting, recognizes Guillaume Bresson, Damien Deroubaix, Pierre Monestier, and the duo Tursic & Mille. Due to the coronavirus crisis, the €100,000 endowment is split equally among the laureates. The winners are showcased in a collective exhibition at the Palais de l'Institut de France in Paris, running until August 9, 2020. The selection committee, including academicians Philippe Garel, Gérard Garouste, Jean-Marc Bustamante, and Fabrice Hyber, chose artists who "go to the heart of painting." The exhibition, held in the recently renovated Pavillon Comtesse de Caen by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, presents four distinct universes that engage with art history, literature, and contemporary issues. Pierre Monestier's works reference Jonathan Swift, while Guillaume Bresson's choreographed bodies evoke neoclassicism akin to Ingres or David. Tursic & Mille's vibrant paintings level all images to punk poetry, juxtaposing the Venus of Willendorf with the Sex Pistols. Damien Deroubaix's canvases explore female representations from the Paleolithic Venus of Hohle Fels. The Del Duca prizes, though less known than the Nobel, offer comparable endowments.