My Parisian Journey: 8 Impressionist’s Exhibits in Paris

Impressionist’s Exhibits in Paris

In 1863 Louis Napoleon III decreed that the citizens of Paris should be allowed to judge the quality and standards of art for themselves.  For the previous 100 years, the content and style of French art had been judged solely by the Académie des Beaux-Arts.  They preferred historical subjects, religious themes which were “finished” images.  Therefore, Napoleon III established the Salon des Refusés to allow the public to view the more modern artist’s work of landscapes and contemporary life.  Artists such as Pierre-August Renoir, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Édouard Manet Alfred Sisley, and Paul Cézanne submitted their works to this exhibition.  Many of their works won prizes, garnered commissions and developed a following.

Ten years later, Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and Sisley organized the Société Anonyme Coopérative des Artistes Peintres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs (“Cooperative and Anonymous Association of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers”) in order to exhibit their works independently.  Soon after, Cezanne, Berthe Morisot and Edgar Degas joined them to exhibit their plein air paintings.

In April 1874, thirty artists participated in exhibiting their work together in the studio of a famous photographer Nadar on Boulevard Capucines in the 2^er Arrondisment of Paris.  Over the next 12 years, many of these artists showed their works in eight total exhibitions and changed the world of art forever.

This week I had the wonderful opportunity to visit each of these eight locations where the Impressionists exhibited their works. I stood on the street corners and tried to visualize mid nineteenth century Paris, a time of change after war and after Napoleon III rebuilt the city.

Listed below are the eight exhibitions, their locations, some of the more well-known artists which exhibited and their works, accompanied by photos of the current buildings and surroundings.  For all of you Impressionist’s fanatics, comme moi, ENJOY!!

                                                                                   

 

 

 

Impressionist Exhibitions

1st Exhibition: ( 1874 )     35, blvd des Capucines :    Monet : Blvd des Capucines : Déjeuner /  Renoir : Danseuse ; Tête de femme

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

and 6th Exhibition: ( 1881 )  35, blvd des Capucines:    Cassatt:  La Lecture:  Le jardin;  L’Automne;  Le the;  Mere et Enfant  

 2nd Exhibition:  (1876)   11, rue Le Peletier:    Caillebotte :  Raboteurs de parquets (d’Orsay) ;  Jeune homme à sa fenêtre/   Monet :  Argenteuil ;  La Plage à  Sainte-                     Adresse ;  Le Printemps/    Renoir :  Femme et Enfant ;  Liseuse ;  Femme au Piano ;  Frederic Bazille

3rd Exhibition:  (1877 )  6, rue Le Peletier:   Caillebotte :  Rue de Paris :  Temps de pluie (AIC) ;  Le pont de l’Europe (Kimbell Museum) ; /  Monet :  Le Gare St-Lazare arrive d’un train ;  Les Tuileries ;Les Dindons/   Renoir :  La Balançoire (d’Orsay) ; Bal au Moulin de la Galette (d’Orsay)

 

4th Exhibition (1879)    28, Ave de l’Opera:    Caillebotte :  Canotiers/  Cassatt :  Portrait de petit fille ;  Femme dans une loge ;  Femme lisant/   Monet :  Zaandam ; Bords de la seine ;  La rue St. Denis

 

 

5th Exhibition (1880)     10, rue des Pyramides:    Caillebotte :  Vue pris à travers un balcon, Vue de Paris soleil/ t :  Le thé ; Homme lisant ;  Le soir

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7th Exhibition (1882  )     251, rue Saint-Honoré:    Caillebotte :  Homme au balcon ;  Fruits (MFA) ;  Chemin vert /   Monet :Soleil couchant sur la seine, effet d’hiver ;  Chrysanthèmes ;  La cote à Trouvaille/     Renoir :  Les deux sœurs :  Un déjeuner à Bougival ;  Vue de Vènice

                  

8th Exhibition (1886 )     1, rue Lafitte:    Cassatt :  Jeune fille à la fenêtre : Jeune fille au jardin ;  Enfants sur la plage ; Mère et Enfant : petit déjeuner au lit/  Seurat :  Un dimanche à la Grande Jatte (AIC);

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2015 by Robyn Lowrie.  May be quoted in part or full only with attribution to Robyn Lowrie (www.frenchquest.com)

Further Readings:

“Renoir’s Bal au Moulin de la Galette”    https://frenchquest.com/2013/11/17/renoirs-bal-au-moulin-de-la-galette/

“Where to find Renoir in the United States” https://frenchquest.com/2014/06/14/where-to-find-renoir-in-the-united-states/