OUT OF LOCKDOWN, INTO POST-IMPRESSIONIST PARIS
MMFA exhibition strikes a note of optimism
The presence of great artists is one thing. But every healthy culture needs its nurturers. Paul Signac was both. At a time when Belle Époque France’s artistic identity was increasingly dictated by conservative establishment gatekeepers, a humble painter born in Paris in 1863 struck a decades-long blow for grassroots vitality.
“Even in the late 19th century, the official Salon (predating Signac’s Salon des Indépendants) was still very present, but Signac wanted to create something bigger and more democratic — something where there was, in his words, ‘neither jury nor reward,’ ” said Mary-dailey Desmarais, co-curator with Gilles Genty of Paris in the Days of Post-impressionism: Signac and the Indépendants, the huge and revelatory exhibition that marks the reopening of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts after three months of COVID -19-necessitated lockdown.
Anti-elitism was at the heart of Signac’s project. The word democratic is key — this was a salon open to literally everyone.
“Signac was someone who had a strong identification with the working class,” said Desmarais. “He really believed that art should have social messages. He espoused anarchist views, but it should be emphasized that in his case this meant a vision of a harmonious, peaceful society outside of governmental norms.”
For an exhibition that spans 1884 through 1914 and showcases more than 500 works by nearly 80 artists in multiple media, Paris in the Days of Post-impressionism has a remarkable organic unity. The aim, said Desmarais, was “to tell a story, with Signac as the main thread, and to explore the major artistic currents of the time. Yes, there’s neo-impressionism, but there’s also Fauvism, cubism and more.”
While household names abound — Picasso, Monet, Toulouse-lautrec, Chagall, Cézanne, Modigliani — this is not a star-driven exhibition. On the contrary, the legends mingle easily with contemporaries who, you can’t help but feel, could just as easily have been legends themselves. Visitors will have their own not-quite-iconic favourites — this reporter was especially pleased to see two seldom-shown works by Raoul Dufy — while all but the true adepts are sure to discover names completely new to them. If you already know about Theo van Rysselberghe, well done; if you don’t, prepare to make a friend. And there will be many others.
Especially notable among the show’s small-c catholic remit is the healthy number of works by women, among them Eva Gonzalès, Marie Laurencin and, most prominently, Berthe Morisot.
“She was a pioneer in terms of establishing herself independently as an artist,” said Desmarais. “It was hardly an easy road. Her obituary (Morisot died in 1895) had literally no mention of her artistic practice. It took a long time for women artists to be discussed in equal terms with their male peers. In some ways, that fight is still ongoing. But we certainly start to see
an improvement (in the years covered by the exhibition).”
It has been no easy road for this exhibition, either. The show was mere days from opening in March when lockdown went into effect; keeping it presentation-ready in the face of enormous uncertainty over the succeeding weeks made for what MMFA director Nathalie Bondil called “an extraordinary adventure.”
It’s an adventure that has now reached a happy place in all respects. While the museum’s team could not have known how appropriate a choice of shows they made for a society roiled by trauma and gradually making its way out of isolation, the profound optimism and idealism of Signac’s vision and the work it encompasses shines through with uncanny timing. Enhanced by period-appropriate music and a smoothly flowing layout, a better antidote to the quarantine blahs could hardly be imagined.
“I hope that’s what people come away with, because we wanted to tell a story that would be relevant to what we’re living now,” said Desmarais. “I hope it brings people some joy in these difficult times.”
One of Signac’s signature works, In the Time of Harmony, was subtitled The Golden Age Is Not in the Past, It Is in the Future. That was in 1895. Walking through this stunning exhibition, you can almost believe it today. ianmcgillis2@gmail.com