OSHKOSH.- Organized especially for the Paine Art Center and Gardens, this exceptional exhibition features depictions of the human form in French art from the 1850s through the turn of the 20th century. Highlights include paintings and works on paper by renowned Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists, such as Cézanne, Gauguin, van Gogh, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, and Seurat.
Drawn from the renowned collections of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery of Buffalo, New York, the works of art included in the exhibition bring to life one of the most transformative periods in art history, when Paris was the art capital of the world and French painting was undergoing dramatic changes in both style and subject. Organized thematically, The Impressionist Figure explores a breadth of subjects, ranging from rural and urban scenes, to domestic life and leisurely pursuits, to portraiture and figure studies.
Barbizon School landscapes and realist paintings from the mid-nineteenth century by Corot, Millet, and Daumier represent important precursors to Impressionism, paving the way for the vibrant palettes, light-filled canvases, and depictions of Paris and the countryside by celebrated Impressionists Pissarro, Degas, and Caillebotte. An exquisite portrayal of a woman sewing by female Impressionist Berthe Morisot illustrates the movement’s interest in scenes of everyday life and intimate domestic themes. The painting’s modern subject, colorful palette, and visible, fragmented brushstrokes epitomize the finest Impressionist canvases of the 1870s.
Working in the mid-1880s and into the first years of the twentieth century, Post-Impressionist artists built upon the stylistic innovations of the Impressionists to develop their own unique, varied forms of artistic expression. The Impressionist Figure showcases major works from this period by Seurat, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, and others. Highlights include Seurat’s Study for La Grande Jatte, a brilliant landscape composed of small dashes in shades of orange, green, and blue, and Toulouse-Lautrec’s dynamic 1893 depiction of dancer Jane Avril, which captures the liveliness of Paris’s famed cafes and cabarets at the turn of the century.
A small selection of French artworks from the Paine’s permanent collection will accompany the exhibition to enhance the thematic groupings and further contextualize the Paine’s own important holdings in nineteenth-century French art. In addition, an exhibition of the Paine’s Barbizon School landscapes will be on view in the Salon Gallery along with educational resources about Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.
The Impressionist Figure is presented at the Paine Art Center and Gardens in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Revered as an “American Castle,” the Paine features an exquisite 1920’s English-style mansion with historic interiors and an exceptional art collection including French Barbizon and American landscape paintings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Surrounded by more than three acres of breathtaking display gardens, the landscape evokes images of an Impressionistic palate with stunning compositions and artistic inspirations.
