As the leaves turn color and the weather turns cooler, a new season of art and culture is already heating up. With stunning collections, rare retrospectives and a spotlight on creative trailblazers, the variety of exhibits on offer is sure to keep any art lover’s agenda packed. Don’t forget to check the exhibit websites before you go for latest health measures and ticketing information, since most venues still require advanced reservations to regulate crowds.
Visionary Collectors
The Morozov Collection, Icons of Modern Art
THE major exhibit of the fall brings one of the world’s foremost collections of Impressionist and Modern art to Paris, the first time it has traveled outside of Russia. The Morozov Brothers were patrons of the arts who did much to enhance the reputation of French artists at the turn of the 20th century. Although their expansive collection was eventually nationalized and split up, this exhibit brings over 200 masterpieces back together, including work from French artists like Manet, Rodin, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, Cézanne, Gaugin, Van Gogh, Bonnard, Matisse alongside Russian masters.
Where: Fondation Louis Vuitton, 8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, 75116 Paris
When: Through February 22, 2022
Signac, the Collector
One of the fathers of the Neo-impressionism, Paul Signac was as accomplished a collector as he was a painter. This colorful exhibit brings together 150 works, both by Signac and the artists he admired, including members of the Neo-impressonist, Nabis and Fauve movements, to demonstrate the evolution of his visionary taste and artistic theories.
Where: Musée d’Orsay, 1 Rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 75007 Paris
When: Through February 13, 2022
Fashion Forward
Thierry Mugler, Couturissime
Tracing the career of this singular designer from the 70s through the 2000s, this exhibit is a multi-sensory experience mixing photography, video, music, haute-couture and never-before-seen behind-the-scenes material. From his glamazon esthetic to his supermodel ad campaigns to his famous perfumes, Mugler created a striking world all his own that is still influencing designers and artists today.
Where: Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 107 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
When: Through April 24, 2022
Vogue Paris 1920-2020
The Palais Galliera celebrates 100 years of this iconic magazine, the embodiment of French taste, beauty and elegance. With over 400 photographs, illustrations, documents, and designer pieces, the exhibit traces the history of the magazine through its editors and the artistic choices they made and highlights the immense talent of its contributors, including photographers such as Doisneau, Newton, Lindbergh and Testino.
Where: Palais Galliera, 10 Avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie, 75016 Paris
Where: Through January 30, 2022
Uncommon Women
Vivian Maier
Now largely considered one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century, Vivian Maier was relatively unknown until a treasure trove of her work was discovered in 2007. This exhibit features many photos never before seen in France that shed light on the mystery of the woman and her work, which captured the essence of American modernity in the 1950s and beyond.
Where: Musée du Luxembourg, 19 rue de Vaugirard, 75006
When: Through January 16, 2022
Georgia O’Keeffe
A towering figure of 20th century North American art, Georgia O’Keeffe is still little known in France. In fact, this exhibit featuring close to a hundred paintings, drawings and photographs is the first retrospective of her work here. Tracing the evolution of her career from the romantic eroticism of her flower paintings to the more hard-edge abstraction of her later work, the exhibit proves how her creative vision blazed a trail for the generations of female artists who came after her.
Where: Centre Pompidou, Place Georges-Pompidou 75004 Paris
When: Through December 6, 2021
Impressions and Expressions
Julie Manet, an Impressionnist Heritage
The Marmottan Monet Museum hosts the first ever exhibit devoted to Julie Manet, the only daughter of the first female Impressionist artist Berthe Morisot, and niece of modernist master Édouard Manet. Through over 100 paintings, sculptures, engravings and more, many of which feature Manet as the model, the exhibit traces her childhood among the impressionists and her commitment to collecting, carefully preserving the art she inherited and loved.
Where: Musée Marmottan Manet, 2 rue Louis Boilly 75016 Paris
When: Through March 20, 2022
Soutine/de Kooning, Painting Incarnate
L’Orangerie presents an artistic dialogue between two major painters from opposite sides of the Atlantic. Chaïm Soutine, a member of the School of Paris particularly active between the two world wars, had a surprising impact on the work of Willem de Kooning, 20th century abstract expressionist par excellence. Through 50 works, the exhibit explores the tension between the figurative and the abstract and the search for a “third way” reconciling the two.
Where: Musée l’Orangerie, Jardin des Tuileries, Place de la Concorde 75001 Paris
When: Through January 10, 2021
Revolution and Rebirth
Botticelli, Artist and Designer
One of Paris’ most beautiful small museums, the Jacquemart-André, celebrates the creative genius of Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli. Through around 40 works, plus paintings by contemporaries influenced by him, the exhibit highlights the work of Boticelli’s workshop, a place of leaning and experimentation, as well as his dual role as artist and entrepreneur at a time of great cultural change. A rare opportunity to see his masterpieces, including the Birth of Venus, gathered together in one place.
Where: Musée Jacquemart-André, 158 boulevard Haussmann 75008 Paris
When: Through January 24, 2022
Paris-Athens, The Birth of Modern Greece, 1675-1919
On the bicentennial of the Greek War of Independence and the arrival at the Louvre of the Venus de Milo, the Paris institution interrogates the special place of ancient Greek arts in its collection and the role of Greece in the construction of France’s cultural identity. Through hundreds of paintings, sculptures, photographs, artifacts, and costumes, the exhibit examines 200 years of cultural exchange between Greece and Europe exploring such themes as the rise of archaeology, the use of color in antiquity, and the entry into modernity.
Where: Musée du Louvre, Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
When: Through February 7, 2022
Thanks, Tracy! Let me know if you’re coming in to see one 🙂
Thank you Elizabeth! Just what I was looking for – a review of the top exhibitions in Paris right now! Very useful.