Paris comes to Catalonia

15 December 2003

GIRONA – A hundred paintings by artists such as Renoir, Picasso, Degas and Chagall went on display Monday at a massive exhibition about art in Paris.

The paintings are part of a collection owned by collector Oscar Ghez-Petit Palais which centres on artists working in the French capital in the early part of the last century.

The exhibition, which opened in Girona Monday, shows the complex artistic revolution that surged in Paris, from Impressionism to the avante-garde movements, including fauvism, cubism and surrealism.

The exhibition is divided into five sections. The first, “Impressionist Paris”, includes works by young artists who clashed with contemporary conventional tastes, such as Renoir and Degas, who offer their view of Paris and its inhabitants in 1874.

The second is “La Butte (Rue) de Montmartre”, which includes artists from all over the world and various styles, from Luces’s neo-impressionism, Forain’s caricatures and Van Dongen’s fauvism.

“La nuit, la Fete” reflects the nightlife in Paris as seen by artists such as Utrillo, Leprin and Legrand, while “The Boulevards” recalls changes in the urban landscape by nostalgic painters such as Maufra and Dumont.

The last section is “Paris and the avante-garde, Fauvism, cubism and the School of Paris”, which begins with Derain’s and Van Dongen’s colourful canvases, ending with cubism after 1909 by Picasso and Blanchard.

On display at La Caixa culture centre in Girona until February 8, the exhibition will also be seen in Castellón, Vitoria, Salamanca, Gandía and Valencia until October 2004.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news