Alfred Sisley was born and lived in France for most of his life, but inherited British nationality from his father and never received French citizenship. Although he was raised in Paris, he lived in the outskirts of the city for most of his life, finally settling near Fontainebleau in 1880.
Key piece to look for: Seine at Bougival (La Seine à Bougival), 1873
Édouard Manet primarily worked in Paris, where he painted café singers, horse races, outdoor social gatherings, and other scenes of modern urban life. “We are not in Rome and we don’t want to go there,” he said, expressing his concern that artists should paint contemporary life as they knew it, instead of following the tradition of copying Italian Old Master paintings. “We are in Paris, let’s stay here.” He did occasionally travel to Spain and the Netherlands to study other artists’ work, and to the coasts of France, where he painted The Beach at Berck.
Berthe Morisot lived and worked primarily in the Rue des Moulins district of Paris. Her proximity to Paris’ museums and circle of artists gave her the opportunity to study under Camille Corot and become close friends with Édouard Manet, whose brother she eventually married.
Key piece to look for: Lesson in the Garden (La Leçon au Jardin) 1886.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s family moved to Paris when he was a child, and he worked there for the rest of his career. Always looking for new motifs to paint, he traveled extensively, visiting North Africa, Genoa, and many major European cities. Later in his life, he spent winters in southern France, increasingly preferring the idyllic countryside to the bustling city.
Key piece to look for: Banks of the Seine, Bougival (Bords de la Seine, Bougival),1871
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec worked in Paris from 1882 to his death in 1901. He is most known for his work between 1891 and 1900, when he lived in Montmartre, a neighborhood of Paris famous for its cabarets, cafes, nightclubs, and brothels.
Key piece to look for: Jane Avril Leaving the Moulin-Rouge¸1892
Note: Passport to Paris was on view October 27, 2013-February 9, 2014. Degas: A Passion for Perfection opens at the Denver Art Museum February 11, 2018.
Edgar Degas was born in Paris in 1834 to a wealthy banking family. After spending three years in Italy copying Italian master paintings, he returned to Paris, focusing on a variety of contemporary subjects—including dancers, race horses, seascapes, and brothel scenes. Although he travelled extensively in the early 1870s, Degas spent the majority of the rest of his career in Paris.
Camille Pissarro was born in St. Thomas (then part of the Danish West Indies) and lived there most of his young adult life, except when he attended school in Paris from 1842 to 1847. He moved to France in 1855, first establishing himself in Paris and then living in various towns in the countryside outside the city. He did not travel as extensively as other impressionists, choosing to focus on painting the landscapes around the villages he lived in.
Vincent van Gogh was born in the Netherlands in 1853 and lived there during his formational years as an artist. He briefly attended the Academie des Beaux Arts in Brussels and moved around the Netherlands, immersing himself in the lives of the peasants that he painted. In 1886, he moved to Paris, where he met Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro through his brother Theo, who ran a successful art dealership. He moved to southern France in 1888, where the bright sun and rich landscapes further inspired his vibrant use of color.
Claude Monet moved to Paris in 1862 and worked in and around the city for the beginning of his career, briefly moving to his family home in Normandy in 1867 due to poverty. In 1870 he moved to London to escape the Franco-Prussian War. He moved to Giverny in 1883 where he spent the rest of his life creating and painting his elaborate flower garden. Facing poverty most of his life, Monet traveled extensively in order to find new subjects to paint and widen the range of appeal for his prospective buyers.
Key piece to look for: Waterlilies, 1904
The DAM is publishing a blog series that will highlight some of the artists whose work is on view in Passport to Paris. We will share a little about the artist’s biography and inspiration, and details about a key artwork in the exhibition. Check back to learn more about Paul Cézanne, Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, Claude Monet, and other superstars of French art whose work is on view in Passport to Paris.
Paul Cézanne worked primarily in Aix-en-Provence, in the South of France. He became a painter only after much disagreement with his father, who encouraged him to study law and banking. Although he regularly spent short periods in Paris, he spent most of the rest of his life in Aix and nearby L’Estaque, where he painted scenes from the surrounding countryside.
Key piece to look for: House in the Country, 1877-79.
Conocí a Rita Flores de Wallace a pricipios de la década de los años 1990 en el Museo de las Américas, durante una visita, guiada por ella, de una exhibición relacionada a la celebración del Dia de los Muertos. Me impresionó mucho su conocimiento de esta tan importante tradición Mexicana, pero también su forma tan cálida y accessible con la que compartió la exhibición con nuestro grupo. Casi inmediatamente después de que concluyó su tour, la invite a que formara parte del –en ese entonces- pequeño grupo de guías de los programas en español del Denver Art Museum.