RUE DU BAC : MUSÉE MAILLOL
Marvel at the Musée Maillol
Les merveilles du Musée Maillol
The Musée Maillol in an exhibition fittingly entitled The Marvelous World of the Naïves, from the Douanier Rousseau to Séraphine is bringing together more than 100 works emanating from the dreamy, unusual and endless world of the artists referred to as the Naïves. Called modern primitives by the collector and art critic Wilhelm Uhde, these artists were known for their own interpretation of painting which remained far from the avant-garde and the academic.
The exhibition marks the first time in Paris that these highly colorful works have been brought together offering a panorama of an often neglected segment of art history between the two wars. The show also aims to bring to light a constellation of artists who remained somewhat forgotten including Camille Bombois, Ferdinand Desnos and Louis Vivin. Self-taught like the Douanier Rousseau who preceded them, they often practiced their art in secret and combined it, by necessity, with a profession that was often modest, like being a household employee or a wrestler in a fair. Their works were discovered by personalities in the art world including Dina Vierny, the founder of the Musée Maillol.
The exhibition whose scenography follows a thematic path underscores the pictorial quality of these artists. A selection of surprising works that go against the current emanating from major public and private collections reveals the great inventiveness of each artist. The show offers a glimpse into the subversive dimension of their art, although it was known as Naïve or Primitive.
From September 11th to January 19th
59-61 Rue de Grenelle (7th), 01 42 22 59 58 - www.museemaillol.com
The entrance to the Musée Maillol is graced by a majestic fountain, the Four Seasons, created by the royal sculptor Edme Bouchardon between 1739 and 1745 and which was classified as a historic monument in 1862. The buildings of the museum itself were once home to a convent, the writer Alfred de Musset and a cabaret.