What's On in Paris - Part IV

As you can see, when I wrote a few blogs ago that there were a lot of really great exhibitions on in Paris at the moment, I wasn't kidding!  So now, after the Second Empire, Oscar Wilde and Magritte, I will wrap up my tour of museum shows with two from the Americas.

Now on view at the Grand Palais is "Mexique: 1900-1950" a survey of Mexican art both pre- and post-Revolution.  If you're wondering, as I did, why a major exhibition focused on 20th century Mexican art is being held in France, you might be surprised to learn that around the turn of the century it was common for promising Mexican artists to be sent to Paris to increase their exposure to the masters of European art.  Many prominent artists benefited from this government program including Roberto Montenegro who painted the Paris skyline in an Impressionist style...

"Ville dans la brume", c. 1911

and Angel Zárraga who embraced Cubism in this painting of a young woman with fruit...

"Petite fille aux fruits", c. 1915

Although these Mexican ex-pats were welcomed by the French artistic community, the outbreak of the Mexican revolution and World War I soon after, called many of them home to adapt their avant garde styles to a more nationalistic cause.  The most significant outcome of this period was the growth of the more populist art form, the mural.  Muralism, with its large format and democratic imagery, proved an effective medium to promote the new national language.  It was dominated by three major artists - José Clemente Orozco...

"Wives of Soldiers", 1926

David Alfaro Siqueiros...

 

 

View of "Democracy Breaking Her Chains", 1934

(not in exhibition)

and Diego Rivera...

"La Molendera", 1924

While "Los Tres Grandes" are the most recognizable faces of Mexico's struggle with social and political reform, there were many other participants, including a lot of very accomplished women artists like Olga Costa...

"Autoportrait", 1947

Maria Izquierdo...

"Dream and Premonition", 1947

 

and, of course, Frida Kahlo...

"Autoportrait with Cut Hair", 1940

The exhibition continued almost full circle with a large gallery dedicated to European artists who emigrated to Mexico around World War II to escape political persecution.  In particular, the Surrealists discovered in Mexico a land of fresh and exotic artistic inspiration.  Artists like the Irish-born Leonora Carrington...

"Green Tea (The Oval Woman)", 1942

 

French-born Alice Rahon...

"The Ballad of Frida Kahlo", 1952

 

and the Austrian-born Wolfgang Paalen...

"The Messenger", 1941

...embraced the Mexican landscape and culture and incorporated it into their art.

Though at first, the concept of "Mexique" at the Grand Palais was a little incongruous, by the end of the exhibition the synergy was obvious.  This collaboration between French and Mexican cultural institutions offers visitors a greater realization of the strong bond between the two nations and the historic artistic exchange between them.

Finally, let's head east on the Champs-Élysées and across the Place de la Concorde to the Musée de l'Orangerie where "American Painting in the 1930s" is the headline exhibition for the fall.  Mounted in conjunction with the Art Institute of Chicago, this show presents highlights of American Modernism to the Parisian museum audience.

Georgia O'Keeffe "Cow's Skull with Calico Roses", 1931

Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, "American Painting in the 1930s" explores how artists questioned the national psyche and their own identities during this traumatic period.  The exhibition is broken down into three main segments examining issues of industrialization...

Charles Sheeler "American Landscape", 1930

...the movement from rural to urban communities....

Grant Wood "American Gothic", 1930

 

 ...and the relationship with history and entertainment...

Reginald Marsh "Twenty Cent Movie", 1936

Artists working during the 1930s were struggling not only to find their own, uniquely American, aesthetic expression but at the same time to draw attention to social issues such as massive unemployment, women's rights and race relations...

Joe Jones "American Justice", 1933

By the time the decade drew to a close, American artists had firmly established their own version of Modernism and had attracted a strong following of both private and institutional collectors.  No longer a colony of artistic "copy cats", the United States could proudly boast a rich national culture of world class artists.  This exhibition of some of the greatest examples of 20th century art made me proud to be an American in Paris!