exhibits
19th- and early 20th-century Western art, from romantic naturalism to PostImpressionism. The pieces on display were among 260 donated to the museum by the Welsh heiresses Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, who between 1908 and 1923 amassed the largest collection of French Impressionist and PostImpressionist art in Great Britain. Jan. 30 through April 25 at the Corcoran Gallery of Art; corcoran.edu.
Washington,DC Washington, DC RENAISSANCE TO REVOLUTION
Renaissance to Revolution: French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500–1800 serves as a Who’s Who of three centuries’ worth of French artists and their foreign contemporaries working in France, including Benvenuto Cellini, Jacques Callot, François Boucher and Jacques-Louis David. The cream of the institution’s renowned collection of French Old Master drawings, the 120 pieces on view—many significant recent acquisitions—have never before been assembled for display. Through Jan. 31 at the National Gallery of Art; nga.gov.
Philadelphia PICASSO IN PARIS
Bringing together more than 100 paintings, sculptures and works on paper, Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris surveys the artist’s output from 1905 to 1945, a particularly fruitful chapter in his long and prolific career. The show traces his creative trajectory from his early experiments with abstraction to his Cubist period to his take on Surrealism and other movements. Pieces by such contemporaries as Chagall, Man Ray and other School of Paris artists further illustrate the French capital’s vital role in the history of modern art. Feb. 24 through April 25 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; philamuseum.org.
St. Louis TREASURES OF NAPOLÉON
Treasures of Napoléon revisits the life and times of le petit caporal through more than 250 historical artifacts and works of fine and decorative art. Iconic portraits by such celebrated artists as David and Houdon are joined by intimate personal items that offer a glimpse of the man behind the myth—a letter he wrote at age 14, the lotto game he played with his wives and clothing he wore in exile on St. Helena. Through Feb. 13 at the Missouri History Museum; mohistory.org.
Memphis
Los Angeles LATE RENOIR
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Mary Cassatt’s “The Loge” (1882) is a highlight of the Chester Dale Collection, on view in Washington, DC.
MONET TO MATISSE
Monet to Matisse: French Masterworks from the Dixon Gallery and Gardens displays 30 late-19th- and early 20th-century paintings and pastels in a variety of genres, from portraiture to still life to landscape. Degas, Renoir, Gauguin, Cézanne and many other luminaries of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist movements are represented. Jan. 31 through April 4 at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens; dixon.org.
Columbus
C h e s t e r Da l e C o l l ec t i o n
CYPRIEN GAILLARD
Born in Paris in 1980, Cyprien Gaillard recently landed the 10th spot on Flash Art magazine’s list of the world’s top 100 emerging artists. A recurring theme of his work is the “unauthorized ruin”—the landscape-blighting high-rise as historical artifact. His first solo museum show in the U.S. is a selection of films and photographs titled Cyprien Gaillard: Disquieting Landscapes; its centerpiece is the 30-minute video montage “Desniansky Raion” (2007), which combines scenes of a massive gang fight in suburban St. Petersburg, the festive demolition of a Paris housing project and illegally captured aerial views of a Kiev apartment complex. Jan. 30 through April 11 at the Wexner Center for the Arts; wexarts.org.
New York MONET’S WATER LILIES
Celebrating some of the most internationally beloved works in its collection, the Museum of Modern Art presents Monet’s Water Lilies. The show brings together MoMA’s complete holdings from the artist’s late period, during which he devoted himself to painting the gardens of his home in Giverny. A highlight of these highlights is the iconic 42-foot-wide triptych “Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond.” Through April 12 at the Museum of Modern Art; moma.org.
New York CHRONOTOPES & DIORAMAS
Dia at the Hispanic Society presents chronotopes & dioramas, the first major U.S. solo exhibition for Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, one of the leading French figures on the international contemporary art scene. The site-specific installation complements the Hispanic Society of America’s impressive research library, which contains the most extensive manuscript collection of its kind outside Spain but more limited contemporary holdings. Gonzalez-Foerster’s 40-foot-wide “annex” displays the books of some 40 20th-century authors as
“indigenous inhabitants” of three different terrains rendered in natural historystyle dioramas. Through April 18 at the Hispanic Society of America; diaart.org/ hindex.html.
Tampa MATISSE PRINTS
The main inaugural exhibition at the Tampa Museum of Art’s new facility, A Celebration of Henry Matisse: Master of Line and Light unites some 150 works spanning five decades and representing every technique the artist employed, from lithography to linocut. The show explores the importance of serial imagery in Matisse’s work by highlighting such recurring motifs as the reclining nude. A complementary selection of paintings and sculptures illustrates how thoroughly the artist integrated his thematic interests into every medium he embraced. Feb. 6 through April 18 at the Tampa Museum of Art; tampamuseum.org.
Washington,DC Washington, DC TURNER TO CÉZANNE
Through more than 50 paintings and works on paper, Turner to Cézanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection, National Museum Wales offers an overview of the major movements of
Although identified with Impressionism, Renoir traveled far afield of that movement in the final decades of his life, drawing inspiration from Titian, Rubens and other Old Masters. Renoir in the 20th Century showcases 80 paintings, sculptures and drawings from this lesser known period of his career, when he continued his prolific output despite the crippling effects of rheumatoid arthritis. Illustrating how Renoir’s marriage of tradition and innovation influenced the next generation of artists, the show incorporates pieces by Picasso, Matisse, Bonnard and others. (See related story, page 24.) Feb. 14 through May 9 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; lacma.org.
Dallas THE LENS OF IMPRESSIONISM
Thanks in part to the expansion of the railway, the fishing villages of Normandy metamorphosed into fashionable resorts during the 19th century, providing ample inspiration both for painters and for practitioners of the burgeoning art of photography. Exploring the dynamic between these two forms of creative expression, The Lens of Impressionism: Photography and Painting Along the Normandy Coast, 1850-1874 combines vintage prints by Le Gray, Le Secq and others with oils, watercolors and pastels by such masters as Monet, Manet and Courbet. Feb. 21 through May 23 at the Dallas Museum of Art; dallasmuseumofart.org. F r a n c e • W I N T ER 2 0 0 9 -1 0
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