by Kristen Depken
Last Saturday, my friend Tracy and I headed over to the Met to indulge our artistic sides by exploring the new “Americans in Paris, 1860-1900” exhibit, which opened on October 24th. Featuring over 100 paintings by 37 American artists who lived and worked in Paris during the late 19th century, the exhibit explores the idea espoused by Henry James when in 1887 he said that: "It sounds like a paradox, but it is a very simple truth, that when to-day we look for ‘American art’ we find it mainly in Paris. When we find it out of Paris, we at least find a great deal of Paris in it." James’ quote refers to the late 19th century migration of American artists to Paris, the art capital of the world, in an effort to compete with French artists who had become popular among patrons in the United States. Notable American artists such as John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassat, Willard Metcalf, Winslow Homer, and Childe Hassam flocked to Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Louvre, in the Salons, and among the prominent Parisian artists of the time. “Americans in Paris” displays the influence Paris had on these artists, both during their stay in the city and after they had returned to the states.
Spanning eight galleries, the best feature of the exhibit (other than the works, of course) is its layout. The paintings have been arranged in each gallery according to theme. Upon entering a gallery, the visitor is presented with an introduction that provides a piece of historical and cultural background information on the period and explains the theme that ties together the paintings in that particular gallery and how they fit into the movement as a whole. The end result is a carefully woven story of the American artists in Paris, told as the visitor meanders from one gallery to the next. This creates an experience that not only displays the great works of the period, but allows the visitor to fully understand the progression and themes of the movement as well. Here is an overview of the exhibit, along with my favorite highlights from each of the eight galleries. | |
Gallery One, “Picturing Paris”, features works such as John Singer Sargent’s In the Luxembourg Gardens, Charles Courtney Curran’s Afternoon in the Cluny Garden, and Mary Cassat’s In the Loge. These pieces show the artists’ admiration of the city’s beauty and their observations as they immerse themselves in Parisian culture by strolling the city’s magnificent gardens, dining in its charming cafés, and going to the theater. Gallery Two, “Artists in Paris”, features the artists’ self-portraits and paintings of one another, showing the lives they led in Paris and the studies they undertook through works such as Jefferson D. Chalfant’s Bouguereau's Atelier at the Académie Julian, Paris and J. Carroll Beckwith’s Portrait of William Walton. |  | | Gallery Three, “At Home in Paris”, presents the artists’ home lives as they became settled in Paris. This gallery was one of my favorites, as it mainly features works by Cassat, who is known for her candid representation of children, the home life, and the bond between mother and child, as seen in Mother about to Wash Her Sleepy Child and Little Girl in a Blue Armchair.
Galleries Four and Five deal with the theme of “Paris as Proving Ground”, featuring works that were painstakingly prepared for the ever-critical annual Paris Salon, in which the American artists competed for recognition. Works such as Winslow Homer’s A Summer Night, Sargent’s Madame X and The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, and John White Alexander’s Repose showcase the practiced skill and experimental techniques with which the artists attempted to win acclaim from the Parisian masters.
Galleries Six and Seven both focus on “Summers in the Country”, displaying the works produced during the American artists’ summer retreat from Paris to quaint countryside suburbs like Giverny, Normandy, and Brittany. Needing a break from Paris once the Salon had ended, the artists surrounded themselves with rural beauty that is captured in works such as James McNeill Whistler’s Coast of Brittany (Alone with the Tide), Robert Vonnoh’s Poppies, and Theodore Robinson’s A Bird’s-Eye View.
The exhibit culminates with Gallery Eight, “Back in the United States”, featuring the works produced by the Americans once they returned to the states. In an effort to combine their newly developed Parisian skills with American subjects and interests, the artists created American Impressionism, a lush, colorful, idealistic style that is characterized by works such as Maurice Prendergast’s Central Park, Childe Hassam’s Allies Day, May 1917, Willard Metcalf’s Gloucester Harbor, and Dennis Miller Bunker’s Chrysanthemums.
By the time I had made my way through the exhibit (which took a little over an hour on a crowded Saturday), I found myself extremely impressed with the amazing works I had just viewed and with the cohesive, thematic way in which they had been laid out. “Americans in Paris, 1860-1900” is a delightfully educational exhibit that transported me to the artistic core of 19th century Paris. I highly recommend paying the Met a visit before January 28 (when the exhibit ends) so that you can become an “American in Paris” just as I did.
“Americans in Paris, 1860-1900” is on display until January 28, 2007 in the Special Exhibition Galleries on the 2nd floor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, located on Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street. Entry is free with museum admission. |
|
