The Dutch in Paris 1789 - 1914. Van Spaendonck, Jongkind, Van Gogh, Van Dongen, Mondriaan

Over 130 works of art will be on display, including iconic paintings like



Van Gogh’s Boulevard de Clichy (1887)



and jewels like Breitner’s Ballet-dancer (1886).

The works of Dutch artists will be shown in conjunction with that of their French contemporaries like Monet, Degas, Signac, Pissarro, Cézanne, Braque en Picasso. The Dutch in Paris will show how the interaction between Dutch and French artists came about and the impact it had on both Dutch and French art. Not only did French artists influence their Dutch colleagues, the Dutch made their mark on French art too.

Paris

Paris! The City of Light has been an inspiration for centuries, touching the hearts of millions of people around the world. The French capital drew artists from across Europe in the nineteenth century, an era of political, scientific and artistic revolution. New generations of artists left their native countries to go where the action was. A major new exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum, The Dutch in Paris 1789–1914, will present Paris through the eyes and hearts of eight Dutch artists. Their work will be shown for the first time in conjunction with that of their French contemporaries.

Friendship

Paris, with all its creative hotspots, exhibitions and training opportunities, exerted a magical attraction throughout the nineteenth century on artists from all corners of the world. Dutchmen like Scheffer and Jongkind made their way to the ‘world’s art capital’ to show and sell their work and to forge new contacts. Dutch artists mingled with their French counterparts at academies, private studios, salons and cafés, and on the city’s grand boulevards. Their friendship and backgrounds inspired them to create works that transcended frontiers, both literally and figuratively. Artists like Jongkind, Breitner, Van Gogh, Van Dongen and Mondrian collaborated with Monet, Degas, Signac, Pissarro, Cézanne, Braque and Picasso to develop new styles and techniques.

The Dutch in Paris will show how this interaction came about and the impact it had on both Dutch and French art. Not only did French artists influence their Dutch colleagues, the Dutch made their mark on French art too. It was Jongkind, for instance, who taught Monet, Boudin and Sisley how to capture light on the canvas. Dutch painters returning home from Paris influenced their fellow artists in the Netherlands: Breitner brought French impressionism to his native country, prompting Isaac Israels to begin painting ballerinas and nudes as well – subjects that had previously been quite unusual among Dutch artists.

Love story

The Dutch in Paris 1789–1914 tells the exciting story of the French nineteenth century in eight chapters, each devoted to a Dutch artist working in Paris. The exhibition can be read as a passionate love story between the Netherlands and France: painters take the viewer on a journey to the ever-changing French capital and show us the city through their eyes and hearts. The chosen works explore Paris and its development through images of Haussmann’s famous boulevards, nightspots like the Folies Bergères and districts such as Montmartre: some of these locations are still familiar to today’s visitors to the city, while others have changed beyond recognition.

International

 

© Kees van Dongen, The blue dress, 1911, c/o Pictoright Amsterdam 2017

The Dutch in Paris 1789–1914 is a unique exhibition organized in collaboration with the Netherlands Institute for Art History (RKD) and the Petit Palais in Paris. It features over 130 works by big names (David, Géricault, Corot, Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Van Dongen, Picasso, Mondrian, Cézanne and Braque) as well as less well-known figures (Van Spaendonck, Van Dael, Scheffer, Tassaert, Jongkind, Sisley, Kaemmerer, Boldini, Boudin, Breitner, Signac, Sluijters, and Jozef and Isaac Israels). A selection of loans from museum and private collections in France and the United States can be admired, many of them for the first time in the Netherlands.

Van Gogh & La France in 2017

The Dutch in Paris 1789–1914 is part of the Van Gogh Museum’s ‘Van Gogh & La France in 2017’ programme, which also includes the successful exhibitions Daubigny, Monet, Van Gogh and Prints in Paris 1900. The Dutch in Barbizon, meanwhile, will be shown at The Mesdag Collection (part of the Van Gogh Museum) in The Hague from 27 October 2017 to 14 January 2018.