Museums and art galleries frequently use major anniversaries as an opportunity to launch exhibitions studying past events or artists. This fall, Washington’s National Gallery of Art has launched its own large-scale exhibit on the sesquicentennial of seminal events in modern art history.
“Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment” compares and contrasts two exhibitions held in the French capital a century and a half ago. In doing so, it prompts viewers to contemplate the extent to which new art movements constitute a revolution, or an evolution, in thought and style.
Competing Paris Shows
This year’s exhibition, which the National Gallery is promoting with a series of concerts, lectures, and online and in-person discussions, displays works from two exhibitions held in Paris. In 1874, the Academie des Beaux-Arts held its regular Salon at the Palais de l’Industrie, while a group of independent artists formed a splinter group, the Societe Anonyme, and held a counter-exhibition.
In the short term, the establishment Salon had a far bigger effect. Approximately half a million visitors saw the works at the Salon exhibition, while the splinter group had fewer visitors (about 3,500) than the Salon had paintings (3,701). Yet the Societe Anonyme became known as the impressionists, giving that show long-run historical relevance. The National Gallery exhibit displays works from both the Salon and the Societe side-by-side, allowing visitors to reexamine trends in 19th century French art with modern eyes.
Contrast and Derision
The respective shows 150 years ago came at a turbulent time in French politics and
