Paris in the twentieth century - Report from Europe - Paris: Capital of the Arts 1900-1968 - Brief Article

Magazine Antiques, Feb, 2002 by Miriam Kramer

The importance of Paris as the creative center of Western art began with the Exposition Universelle in 1900 and ended with the riots of 1968.

This period is explored in depth in a traveling exhibition entitled Paris: Capital of the Arts 1900-1968 on view at the Royal Academy of Arts in London until April 19. It will then be on display at the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain, from May 21 until September 3.

The exhibition is divided into, four sections, linking a section of Paris to the years when it dominated artists' lives: Montmartre (1900-1918), Montparnasse (1919-1939), Saint Germain des Pres (1940-1957), and the Quartier Latin (1958-1968). The curators of the show, Sarah Wilson, Norman Rosenthal, and Anne Dumas, have included only works of art created in Paris so as to tell the story of artists there, why they came, and how they reacted to the city and to each other. Some 250 works by more than 100 painters and sculptors are included in the exhibition.

The London showing is sponsored by Merrill Lynch in association with BBC Radio 3. The catalogue that accompanies the exhibition contains essays by nine scholars. It may be ordered by telephoning 800-288-2129.