Modern Art & Design in Paris: Experimentation & Innovation

Our brand new tour encompasses art collections, sumptuous interior design and innovative architecture, focusing on Paris as a centre for pioneering modern art and design between 1870 and 1940.

Overview

In the mid 19th century, Paris experienced a significant urban transformation that many consider a catalyst for the city’s modernisation. In 1853 the Haussmann renovation was put into action: a vast urban renewal programme that sought to reinvent ‘the heart of France’, transforming it into a more efficient city, remodelling the narrow medieval streets into expansive boulevards, simultaneously creating a new architectural aesthetic and improving public health. From 1871, the Belle Epoque movement saw tremendous technological advancements, including the establishment of the metro system, as well as artistic flourishing in the forms of Impressionism and Art Nouveau. Subsequently, more experimental styles of art, such as Surrealism and Dada, ensued, as society continued to shift.

A key event during this period was the 1900 World's Fair – or Exposition Universelle – celebrating artistic, technological and industrial achievements such as electricity, cinema and Art Nouveau design. We will explore this during visits to two important structures: the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, both built precisely for this monumental event, with the latter becoming a permanent art gallery. Further, we will traverse the city streets to discover how the impact of the 1900 World’s Fair shaped the broader city, mapping out a variety of Art Nouveau façades.

As rapid social change and industrialisation destabilised society, the French Académie des Beaux-Artes remained grounded in traditional values regarding the visual and symbolic values of art. In response to this rigid criteria, Impressionism emerged as a radical art form, capturing scenes of everyday life, vivid depictions of light and a sense of organic movement in thick, visible brush strokes. Post-Impressionism departed from artistic conventions even further, depicting fundamental forms and vivid colours, as seen in the work of Cézanne and the meticulous technique of Pointillism in Seurat’s paintings. Both of these movements will be our central focus during a visit to the Musee d’Orsay, where paintings by Berthe Morisot, Claude Monet, Édourd Manet and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec adorn the walls.

 
Broader visual culture will come to the fore as we visit the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, a wonderful and extensive assemblage of fashion and textiles, interior furnishings and jewellery dating from the medieval era to the present day. Meanwhile, the Albert Kahn Museum, coined as the ‘archives of the planet’, displays a vast collection of photographs capturing global life in the early 20th century, providing insights into new technologies of the period and France as a colonial power.

 
We will also delve into the art movements that emerged during the inter-war period, including Cubism at Musée National Picasso-Paris and Art Deco objects at the Museum of the Thirties. Le Corbusier’s Maison La Roche, an insurgent masterpiece in architectural form where functionality meets sculptural qualities, will illustrate modern aesthetics aptly, and we will further explore this pioneering modern spirit when visiting the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, home to experimental avant-garde art including works of Surrealism.

Cost Details

Modern Art & Design in Paris: Experimentation & Innovation