Paris
in the Days of Post-Impressionism:
Signac
and the Indépendants
July 1 - November 15, 2020
This magnificent exhibition by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) reveals the exuberant artistic innovations and experimentations that took place in France at the turn of the 20th century. It features over 500 works from an outstanding private collection that were generously landed to MMFA by an anonymous collector.
Rare
loans
In
addition to the over 500 works from the private collection, two rare
pieces have been loaned to the Museum from the archives of Paul
Signac's descendants. One is the portrait Paul
Signac as a Yachtsman (1896)
by Theo Van Rysselberghe (1862-1926) - see image just below, and the other is a sketch for
In the Time of
Harmony (1893) by
Paul Signac that will enable the public to learn more about this
masterpiece, which cannot be transported owing to its size.
The visitors will discover a striking and significant body of paintings and graphic works by Paul Signac and other avant-garde artists of that era: Impressionists (Degas,
Monet, Morisot,
Pissarro), Fauves
(Dufy,
Friesz,
Marquet,
Vlaminck),
Symbolists (Gauguin,
Redon),
Nabis (Bonnard,
Denis,
Lacombe,
Sérusier,
Ranson,
Vallotton),
observers of life in Paris (Anquetin,
Ibels,
Steinlen,
Toulouse-Lautrec),
Cubists (Picasso,
Braque),
Expressionists (Feininger,
Heckel),
as well as the Neo-Impressionists (Angrand,
Cross,
Hayet,
Lemmen,
Luce,
Seurat,
Van Rysselberghe).
The exhibition also brings into focus the social and pictorial issues of the era that prompted a group of artists led by Signac to create the Salon des
Indépendants in 1884. What was so innovative and special about that Salon? It promoted the ideal of a democratic exhibition with neither jury, nor award. Instead they believed that art should be accessible to all and could contribute to the common good.
From its inauguration in 1884 to the First World War, the Salon des
Indépendants served as a platform for major and historical art developments of the time, including: Neo-Impressionism, the Nabis
movement, Symbolism, Fauvism and Cubism. The exhibition situates the
Indépendants in the sociocultural and political context of Paris
during the Belle Époque.
Paul
Signac and the Salon des Indépendants, 1884-1914
Paris,
1900: a revolution was underway in the Belle Époque.
“Art
for all!” declared artists who exhibited at the Salon des
Indépendants under the motto “neither jury, nor reward.”
Co-founder of the Salon des Indépendants, Paul Signac (1863-1935)
made a name for himself as the theoretician of the so-called
“postimpressionist scientists.” Inspired by the chromatic
theories of Charles Henry, Ogden Rood and Michel-Eugène Chevreul, he
applied pure colour to the canvas in tightly placed dots, such that
the form would emerge from the optical blending in the viewer’s
eye. With his “divisionist” technique, he sought to create total
art somewhere between the paradise lost of the golden age and social
utopia. Signac championed positivist painting, which promoted
technical and political modernity. The new pointillist style of his
“Neo” peers spread quickly from Paris to Brussels, glorifying the
better days to come. According to the writings of such critics as
Fénéon, Signac positioned himself as an engaged intellectual in the
era of the Dreyfus affair.
“Justice
in sociology, harmony in art: one and the same thing.” These
words by Signac sum up the vision he applied to both politics and his
quest for social justice and harmony. His nearly 80 works on display
also attest to his pursuit of social and chromatic harmony. In
addition, the exhibition also reveals other movements born of that
turbulent era, including Symbolism, Nabism, Fauvism and Cubism.
Paris
in the Days of Post-Impressionism is the first Canadian
exhibition of this scale dedicated to Neo-Impressionism. It offers a unique opportunity to view
these works together, many of which have never been exhibited before.
Do not miss this exhibition if you live in Montreal or can travel to Montreal during the next few weeks before the exhibition closes on November 15, 2020. The tickets have to be purchased online. Due to Covid-19, the number of people who can attend at the same time is strictly controlled. I found my visit and the spacing between the visitors very comfortable, and the works on display to be a real delight to my eye!
Click on images to enlarge them.
Hover over images for description and credits.
All images courtesy of @MMFA, 2020.
For more information about the Montreal Museum of Fine, visit the museum's website.
CATALOGUE: Scholarly
publication
The
exhibition is complemented by a 384-page catalogue, featuring over
550 illustrations and published in French and English by the MMFA’s
Publishing Department in collaboration with Éditions Hazan, Paris.
Edited by Gilles Genty and Mary-Dailey Desmarais,it presents research
findings and scholarly essays by experts in Post-Impressionism.
Contributors to the book include Mark Antliff, Nathalie Bondil,
Charlotte Hellmann, Mary-Dailey Desmarais, Claire Denis, Phillip
Dennis Cate, Marina Ferretti Bocquillon, Gilles Genty, Hilliard T.
Goldfarb, Anne Grace, Jean-David Jumeau-Lafond, Patricia Leighten,
Katia Poletti, Véronique Serrano, Nicole Tamburini, Belinda Thomson
and Richard Thomson.
P.S.
Unfortunately, due to Covid, MMFA announced a temporary closure of the Museum until October 28, 2020.
