Paris: Art and Artists

Paris, Art and Artists are inextricably linked in the minds of anyone taking an interest in the history of western art. When you visit Paris, a background knowledge of the schools and artists who worked or had their origin in the French capital will greatly enhance the enjoyment of your trip. It's not just the paintings and sculptures in the galleries and museums, but also the lifestyle (or at least, the traditional image of the lifestyle) of the artists which fires the imagination of visitors.

To quote a description of the School of Paris: "During the first decade of the 20th century, numerous painters and sculptors migrated to Paris, which had become the international nexus for avant-garde art. The French capital was appealing to those artists who sought to liberate themselves from the provincial or academic training of their homelands..."

By the end of the 19th century Montmartre, (named in commemoration of the martyrdom of Saint Denis) was generally regarded to be the centre of artistic and bohemian life in Paris, and artists from Cezanne to Picasso lived there at some time or another. You can visit many of the places they frequented today.

Paris Art Links

The Web Museum is not really a museum, but contains extremely useful, indeed, encyclopaedic background information on the French and especially Parisian art schools. Try these links for three great introductions:

• Classicism, Romanticism, Realism France 1740-1860
• Impressionism
• 20th Century

History of French Art timeline
Interesting with thumbnails of pictures, but note many outgoing links don't work

The Artcyclopedia is just what it implies, and will give you detailed information on the various schools, their relationships and the artists within them:

• Impressionists
• Post Impressionists
• Art Nouveau
• Les Nabis
• Pointillism
• Fauvism
• Cubism

Association des Galleries
The Parisian Art Galleries Society website. Just click on each geographic area - Paris Beaubourg, Paris Rive Gauche, Paris Rive Droite & Ile de France - to find the complete exhibition program of over 125 venues.

Notes on the Bohemian Cafe Society
An interesting article about the lifestyle of the artists in Montmartre and Paris in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

TRAVEL TO PARIS WITH US: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS