ABU DHABI 21 September 2019: Louvre Abu Dhabi’s first international exhibition of its new season ”Changing Societies, Rendezvous in Paris: Picasso, Chagall, Modigliani & Co. (1900-1939)” opened to the public on Wednesday.
Featuring some of the most renowned names of 20th century Avant-Gardes – Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani, Constantin Brancusi, Tamara de Lempicka and others – this marks the most comprehensive display of 20th century avant-garde works to be included in a single exhibition in the UAE, with 85 works on show.
Held in partnership with the Centre Pompidou in Paris and organised with Agence France-Muséums, the exhibition traces the artistic output of migrant artists in Paris in the first half of the 20th century. Through an assemblage of celebrated paintings and sculptures – including Picasso’s portrait of Gustave Coquiot (1901), Modigliani’s Portrait of Dédie (1918), Chagall’s The Father (1911) and De Lempicka’s Girl in a Green Dress (1927-30) – visitors will discover and learn more about the lives and works of these foreign artists in Paris and get insight into the social landscape of the period, said Wam.
The exhibition introduces Paris at the beginning of the 20th century, a time in which the city saw an extraordinary artistic renaissance due to the influx of painters, sculptors and photographers – many of them women – from across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Driven out of their home countries by political and religious prosecution, as well as economic hardships, they sought artistic freedom and the creative exchange of ideas. France’s liberal regime during the Third Republic, which promoted intellectual openness and tolerance, paved the way for many of these foreign artists.
Artistic Movements
Rendezvous in Paris: Picasso, Chagall, Modigliani & Co. (1900-1939) traces the emergence of several artistic movements, now known as some of the defining moments in Modern art. One of the first avant-garde movements was Fauvism, exemplified in this show through works such as František Kupka’s The Yellow Scale (1907), Kees van Dongen’s Nini (c. 1909) and Sonia Delaunay’s Philomena (1907). The Fauvists, open to creative risks and inspired by the works of Van Gogh and Gauguin, developed paintings known for their intense and bright palettes. Pieces such as Sonia Delaunay’s Young Girl Sleeping (1907) demonstrate how light and colour are used not only to convey a sense of space, but also emotions.
Rendezvous in Paris: Picasso, Chagall, Modigliani & Co. (1900-1939) also gives prominence to photography, including masterpieces such as Florence Henri’s Shop Windows (c. 1930) and Brassaï’s The Pont-Neuf (c. 1932). With many European and American photographers seeking political refuge or looking to better their economic circumstances, artists such as André Kertész and Ilse Bing developed a new form of photographic Modernism, exemplified in works such as Kertész’s Eiffel Tower (1929).
Visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the evolution and dynamism of the Parisian art scene through a range of interactive and immersive installations, one of them highlights the artists’ journeys from their home country to Paris, another gives insights into the uses of colours by the artists, whilst a recreation of Brancusi’s studio brings to life the sculptor’s environment as well as his relationships with his models and pupils.
