Present an exhibition of original prints, lithographs, etchings, drawings & linocuts. Including works by Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, Miró, Dali, Renoir & others

SCHOOL OF PAR S

It does not refer specifically to an educational institution, artistic movement or a style, but instead a place where artists met and shared experiences that contributed to the diverse range of work they produced. To be part of the ‘School’ artists did not have to be of French origin, they merely needed to reside in the capital and work amongst other artists.

Using the traditional mediums of painting and sculpture, these visual artists did not transcend the barriers of art as it was traditionally understood, however they did pave the way for the new materials and media that art of the latter half of the 20th Century would explore.

Early members of the ‘School’ working prior to and during the First World War in styles such as Cubism included international participants such as Picasso, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani and Piete Mondrian who were joined by French artists such as George Braque and Henri Matisse.

Between the first and second World Wars the ‘School’ expanded to include other familiar names such as Robert Delaunay, Sonia Delaunay, Joan Miró, and Salvador Dali. Their interactions with each other and pioneers of other creative art forms residing in Paris at the time encouraged the evolution of both individual styles and whole movements such as Surrealism and Dada.

The time spent by these artists in Paris varied. Often those who were not of French nationality took their developed styles and identities back to their home countries where they settled in later years and enjoyed critical acclaim and success (fine examples of this are Picasso and Dali). Regularly they were affected by the conflicts of war forcing decisions about where they would reside for them. Regardless of where their separate paths took them, those who lived and collaborated in Paris would not have developed the styles and techniques for which they are each individually celebrated without their time spent in the capital.

Featured here are perhaps the most familiar names that are considered to the part of the ‘School’.

This exhibition celebrates both what these artists were and what they became...The ‘before, during and after Paris’.

THe ‘SCHOOL OF PARiS’ deSCRibeS A CenTRe FOR WeSTeRn ART in THe eARLy PART OF THe 20TH CenTuRy...

The Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) moved to France in 1904. He arrived as a relatively unknown, yet ambitious painter wanting to make a name for himself and benefit from the cross-fertilisation of artistic styles that were emerging from the capital during the first decades of the 20th Century.

His collaborations with artists such as Georges Braque in the early 1900s saw his contribution to the development of notorious artistic movements like Cubism – personified by such iconic works as ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’ which was painted in 1907, 3 years after Picasso’s arrival.

As he continued to experiment, evidence of imagery that is representative of Surrealism filtered into Picasso’s work during the early 1920’s, through his association with fellow Spaniard Joan Miró.

Such interactions saw Picasso come into his own, and when he later settled back into life and work in Madrid and Barcelona, he maintained frequent trips to Paris where alongside his previous rival and now colleague Henri Matisse, Picasso developed a more accessible and commercial artistic style.

The significance of Picasso’s influence by and involvement with ‘The School of Paris’ is evident in his stature as one of the greatest and most recognised artists of all time.Artist’s representation of Les Demoiselles d’Avignon painted by Picasso in 1907.

Pablo

HenriMatisseHenri Matisse (1869 - 1954) originally studied law in Paris before moving back to his home town of Le Cateau in the North of France to become a law clerk. A severe bout of appendicitis was the trigger that gave him what was later to become a fortunate escape from a profession that he found pointless and unfulfilling.

Whilst recovering from his illness in 1890, Matisse was handed a box of paints by his mother to occupy his bed ridden time. Aged 20, he quickly developed an interest in art that he went on to pursue by attending morning classes before moving back to Paris to commence formal art studies for nearly a decade. Matisse’s fellow students often mocked his conservative appearance and the academic approach he took to his work, and gave him the nickname ‘the doctor’ in reference to their viewing him as more of a scientist than an artist at that time.

At the turn of the Century, artists were encouraged to develop their own styles and move away from the more traditional approach to painting that had been seen and celebrated in the 1800s. Whilst the influences of great artists such as Renoir

and the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist movements would never be lost in Matisse’s work, he strode forward and embraced a rather shocking and bold use of texture, colour and technique, that gained its own recognition as being a movement in itself named ‘Fauvism’. Literally translated from the French ‘les fauves’, the term means ‘wild beasts’, and Matisse was named as the King.

As a movement Fauvism was short lived and was to be overshadowed by the development of Cubism and the emergence of other artists such as Picasso working in Paris and now associated with ‘the School’. Matisse’s relationship with Picasso was initiated in 1906 when they met, and went on to be one of great rivalry and friendship as they carved their respective reputations and careers. Often compared because of their use of similar subject matter (women, and still life), the two asserted their individuality by the way they referenced their works - Picasso often by imagination, and Matisse from nature.

Matisse’s sojourn in Paris between 1901 and 1917 was interspersed with regular trips abroad to absorb the influences of Morocco, Algeria and Spain which are represented in the colour palettes he worked with to create some of his most famous paintings during that time. On a social level, Picasso’s introductions allowed him to make a strong and influential circle of friends that included other noted artists, such as Rousseau and Braque, who helped fund and organise ‘Académie Matisse’ - a non-commercial school for young artistic talent in the French capital.

The urge to collaborate with other artists, and the richness it bought to his work and life was a common factor in his later years elsewhere - and always indebted to his time in Paris.

Marc Chagall (1887 - 1985) was once described by art critic Robert Hughes as the “quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth Century”. The eldest of nine children, he was born near the city of Vitebsk, Belarus (which was then part of the Russian Empire).

At that time, Jewish children were not allowed to attend regular Russian Schools or Universities, and it was only through a financial offering made by his mother that he was later admitted to be educated amongst other children. His artistic journey began when he noticed a fellow student drawing - which was a completely alien concept at the time considering there was no art of any kind in his family home.

Chagall pursued his desire to fulfil an art education by later enrolling at a school in St Petersberg in 1906. Again, Jews were not readily accepted into the city or the school, and he had to seek an internal passport from a friend to reside there. He was faced with the choice between hiding or expressing his Jewish roots in the work he was making, and fortuitously chose the latter which was later to become one of the most recognisable traits in his paintings that were said to never ‘expand beyond the landscape of his childhood’.

His association with the School of Paris began in 1910 when he moved to a studio in Montparnasse to live amongst other artists such as Modigliani and develop his artistic style. The dreams he had of being in the city of light and freedom were realised as he absorbed popular styles such as Cubism and Fauvism and established his fine use of medium and colour. He did, however, always remain sentimental towards his homeland, often including scenes of Vitebsk amongst Parisian architecture such as the Eiffel Tower.

In 1914 Chagall returned to Vitebsk to marry his sweetheart. Originally intended to be a fleeting visit, he was given no choice other than to stay there after the outbreak of the first World War and it was not until 9 years later that he returned to Paris having lost a significant number of his early works during the conflict. Here he carved his own unique style that was a combination of Modern Art Movements and Jewish folklore, influenced by the multi media techniques of Picasso, and the explorations of perspective introduced by Frenchman Robert Delauney.

In 1941, Chagall’s name was added to a list of prominent artists whose lives were at risk due to the occupation of France during the Second World War, and he was extricated to the United States. Upon arrival, he was already considered to have international stature, and his popularity would only grow in years to come.

Marc Chagall Museum, Nice, France

MarcChagall

SalvadordaliSalvador Dali (1904 - 1989) is most widely recognised for the Surrealist works that manifested him as an artistic icon of the 20th Century.

Born to wealthy parents in Figueres Spain, his childhood was somewhat troubled by the death of his brother (who his parents considered to ‘live inside him’) and the loss of his mother to cancer when he was just 16 years old.

His artistic journey began one year later, when aged 17 he attended a prestigious art school in Madrid. He resided there for four years until 1926 when he was expelled just before his final exams for his troublemaking ways. He considered his tutors to be incompetent in their ability to judge himself or his work - which was a bold statement to make for an unknown painter armed with an unusual moustache (that would become the trademark of his physical appearance for the remainder of his life).

His studies at college had mostly concentrated on producing representations of the ‘Cubist’ art form. This movement had emerged from Paris at the beginning of the century from work produced by the likes of Braque and Picasso. There were no Cubist painters working in Spain at that time, and his only source materials were magazine articles and a catalogue provided by a peer. He showed a mastery of painting that was influenced by the technicalities of Renaissance painters like Raphael and Vermeer and went on to illustrate his first book and produce a praised work known as ‘Basket of Bread’ after leaving College in 1926. He was learning to command attention through both his skill and intelligent self promotion, and drew interest from other artists working at the time.

Dali’s association with the School of Paris and the impact it had on his development as an artist began later that year when he moved to the French capital and was introduced to Picasso through his acquaintance with Joan Miró. Picasso was highly revered in a young Dali’s eyes and had a significant influence on the development of his style which was emerging as a mix of Modernist and Classical movements.

A few years prior to Dali’s arrival in Paris, French poet Andre Bréton had published the ‘Surrealist Manifesto’ that drew on combining Freudian psychology in the creative arts. In this he claimed that ‘great art should come from the subconscious’. Dali began to explore this notion alongside other artists working at the time (such as Man Ray and Miro) and from here we saw his emergence as a leading figure in the Surrealist Movement before going on to produce such classic works as ‘The Persistence Of Memory’.

JoanMiró

Joan Miró i Ferr à (1893 - 1983) was a Spanish Catalan artist born in Barcelona to a watch making father and goldsmith mother. He lived through two World Wars, the Spanish Civil War and the rise and fall of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, and survived typhoid fever as a child.

He was no stranger to political, personal and cultural change and upheaval - an achievement that is not always evident in the colourful, playful and vibrant works for which he is most widely known.

Miró’s work is unsurprisingly reflective of his personal journey. He intently held on to his identity as a Catalan, which was communicated through a unique visual language that often represented his roots as a freedom fighter. He came of age alongside the Catalan independence movement, however he aligned his personal sense of liberty with internationalism, and having the freedom to absorb and experience Paris where as a young artist he longed to be.

After some frustrating years in Barcelona where Miró felt stifled by his surroundings, he finally made it to the French capital in 1920. Picasso was a friend of his family, and having never made his acquaintance himself, Miró called on him to help with his initiation into Parisian artistic society. He later went on to form relationships with the likes of Hemingway, (amongst other noted poets and authors of the time) who was a strong believer in his work and bought his piece ‘The Farm’. Miró had started to reminisce on the Catalan landscapes of his childhood and included them as subjects of his work as his absence from home began to unveil a new sense of alignment with his heritage. Hemingway said of The Farm: “It has in it all that you feel about Spain when you are there and all that you feel when you are away and cannot go there. No one else has been able to paint those two opposing things.”

In the years that followed, Miró spent his time between Paris and Catalonia as he searched for ways amongst his native landscape to greater distil his identity in the works he produced. His life in Paris had seen him develop another influential friendship with writer of the ‘Surrealist Manifesto’, Andre Bréton. His idea that all art should be responsive to the subconscious became of great interest to Miró whose dalliance with the Surrealist movement was reflective of his time in the French capital, and although brief, highly impactful on his career. In later years, Salvador Dali would arrive in Paris, another Catalan artist and contributor to the Surrealist movement, whom he introduced to Picasso. The commonality of their roots and the way in which their time in Paris shaped responses to their home land had a tremendous impact on the development of their styles, techniques and subject matter - and thus Modern Art history.

Salvadordali

Woman and Bird. Joan Miro. Joan Miro square Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Pierre AugusteRenoir

Alongside exploring his examination of the more traditional side of painting, these exhibitions also focused on his often overlooked influence on the likes of Picasso, Matisse and Bonnard (amongst others) who are associated with the emergence of the ‘School of Paris’ at the beginning of the 20th Century. It was through this influence, that Renoir is included in this exhibition not as a member of the ‘School’ but as an artist who had an impact on those residing in Paris at that time.

Matisse was particularly close to Renoir, and often visited his studio during his final years where he was in awe of what he produced. Of Renoir’s ‘The Bathers’ (1918 - 1919), Matisse concecrated it as “one of the most beautiful pictures ever painted”. It was not only the visual impact of Renoir’s creations that resonated with artists such as Matisse, but also the dedication he had to his craft. Whilst

suffering extreme rheumatoid arthritis, that rendered him unable to stand up or use his hands properly, Renoir continued to work until his final day. When asked by Matisse “why torture yourself?”, Renoir replied “the pain passes, but beauty endures”.

Picasso found a new relevance in Renoir’s work around 1918, when he entered his neo-classical phase and even acquired one of his works ‘Woman Reading’. Over the years his reference to Renoir varied between subtle and obvious. The latter through a now celebrated sketch he made of the artist from an anonymous photograph, and the former through their combined interest in modern, urban life, and fashion which was central to the Impressionist movement.

The most obvious reference we can make to Renoir’s influence on the ‘School of Paris’ is through the foundations he laid that established the city as an inspiration for creativity through its visual and cultural landscape alongside his contemporaries in the 19th Century. ‘Modernism’ that broke down the conventional formulas of representation that Romanticism had embraced was extended in the arts through the decades leading into the 20th Century by the legacy that Renoir and the French Impressionists left.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 - 1919) is best known as the founding master of the Impressionist movement. However, his widely forgotten works of the 20th Century that were made up until the year of his death (often under the burden of extreme health constraints) have recently been resurrected as the subject of many retrospectives.

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L’Enfant au biscuit (s.ta176)Portrait of Jean Renoir

SCHOOL OF PARiS

Open 10am - 5pm every day from 27th February 2014 - 27th March 2014

Dagfields Farm, Crewe Road, Walgherton, Nantwich, CW5 7LGFor enquiries telephone 01270 842 882 or email gallery@baileyarts.co.ukWords & design by eloise Saunders

for bailey Arts