The Avant-gardes of Fin-de-Siècle Paris: Signac, Bonnard, Redon, and their Contemporaries
September 28, 2013–January 6, 2014
Peggy Guggenheim Collection
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30123 Venice, Italy
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The Peggy Guggenheim Collection presents The Avant-gardes of Fin-de-Siècle Paris: Signac, Bonnard, Redon, and their Contemporaries curated by Vivien Greene, Curator, 19th- and Early 20th-Century Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. About 100 paintings, drawings and a significant number of prints, drawn from notable private collections, focus on the avant-gardes of late nineteenth century Paris, with special attention paid to the Neo-Impressionist, Nabi, and Symbolist movements.
The fin de siècle in Paris was a time of political upheaval and cultural transformation during which economic crisis and social problems spurred the rise of radical left-wing groups and an attendant backlash of conservatism. Mirroring the many facets of an anxious, unsettled era, this period saw a spectrum of artistic movements. By the late 1880s, a generation of artists had emerged that included Neo-Impressionists, the Nabis, and Symbolists. Their subject matter remained largely the same as that of their still-active Impressionist antecedents: landscapes, the modern city, leisure-time activities, although these were joined by introspective scenes and fantastical visions. However, the treatment of these familiar subjects shifted. Artists pursued carefully crafted works that were anti-naturalistic in both form and execution and sought to elicit emotions, sensations, and psychic changes in the viewer.
Opening with a selection of Impressionist paintings to contextualize the artistic environment preceding the Neo-Impressionists, the Nabis, and the Symbolists, The Avant-Gardes of Fin-de-Siècle Paris then concentrates on the activities of these movements in the 1890s. Certain artists are explored in depth: Neo-Impressionists Paul Signac and Maximilien Luce; Nabis Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard, and Félix Vallotton; Symbolist Odilon Redon.
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with essays by noted scholars Bridget Alsdorf (Princeton University), Marina Ferretti Bocquillon (Musée des Impressionnismes, Giverny), and Gloria Groom (Art Institute of Chicago).
The exhibition is supported by Intrapresae Collezione Guggenheim. The organizers are grateful for the collaboration of the Corriere della Sera and Radio Italia as media partners. Hangar Design Group designed the exhibition’s publicity materials. Programs auxiliary to the exhibition are supported by the Fondazione Araldi Guinetti, Vaduz.
