Back from the holidays: the 14 must-attend events in Paris Museums
New exhibitions, events, activities: the cultural season promises to be a busy one in the City of Paris museums.
No need to long to be back on holiday, on the beach or in faraway places. There is a host of exciting and creative events and activities in the City of Paris museums to get you back into the routine.
Exhibitions, activities, soirées, lectures and workshops: here are 15 experiences we have organised for you in the City Museums:
1] You will be filled with wonder at the paintings on silk by Jakuchū
Exhibition: Jakuchū, le Royaume coloré des êtres vivants / Jakuchū, The Colourful Realm of Living Beings
From 15 September to 14 October 2018 at the Petit Palais
A brightness of colour, finesse of brushwork: the 30 hanging scrolls on display at the Petit Palais for one month only (because of the extreme fragility of the works) are the jewel of 18th century Japanese painting. Flowers, trees, birds, insects and fish are all part of the dazzlingly virtuoso Colourful Realm of Living Beings created by Ito Jakuchū, the remarkable artist from the Edo period whose unique inventiveness has made him a hugely popular artist in Japan.
An absolutely must-see event – part of the "Japonismes 2018" season celebrating French enthusiasm for Japanese culture.
Itō Jakuchū, Vieux pin et phénix blanc, 1765-1766, Tōkyō, Musée des collections impériales (Sannomaru Shōzōkan), Agence de la Maison impériale
2] You will discover the national treasures of Japan
Exhibition : Trésors de Kyoto, trois siècles de création Rinpa / Treasures of Kyoto, three centuries of Rinpa Art
26 October 2018 – 27 January 2019 at the Musée Cernuschi
The Musée Cernuschi, museum for the arts of Asia, is showing one of the finest treasures of Japanese art, the Rinpa movement. The school originated in the 17th century and has never stopped evolving, giving rise to a multitude of original styles.
The sheer diversity of the movement unfolds in a chronological exhibition revealing national treasures, including Tawaraya Sotatsu's famous "Gods of Wind and Thunder".
Tawaraya Sōtatsu, Dieux du vent et du tonnerre, XVIIe siècle, paire de paravents à deux panneaux, encre et couleurs sur feuille d’or, Kyōto, Kennin-ji
Ouvre classée au Japon «Trésor national»
3] You will discover a Victor Hugo that you have never seen
Exhibition: Caricatures : Hugo à la une / Caricatures – Hugo as Front-Page News
from 13 September 2018 to 6 January 2019 at the Maison de Victor Hugo
What was the public image of Victor Hugo in the 19th century?
The answer is to be found in 180 political and literary caricatures presented in a chronological exhibition that show how, in his day, Hugo as a public persona was loved and disliked, opposed and respected, hated and celebrated.
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4] You will get to understand the importance of the material in a work of art
Exposition : Zadkine, l’Instinct de la Matière
Du 28 septembre 2018 au 10 février 2019 au Musée Zadkine.
« Du dialogue avec la matière naît le geste de l’homme » confiait Zadkine. Dans son travail, Zadkine attache une importance prépondérante à la matière dans la création d’une œuvre.
Les veines du bois, la densité de la roche, la fluidité de l’encre…Cette exposition met en lumière ce lien « organique » à la matière qui lie l’artiste et son œuvre.
More information about the exhibition: L’Instinct de la matière / An Instinct for material
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5] You will get a sense of the complex relationship between teacher and pupil
Exhibition: Transmission transgression
from 3 October 2018 to 3 February 2019 at the Musée Bourdelle
Having been a pupil of Falguière's, and an assistant to Rodin, the sculptor Antoine Bourdelle was in his turn a teacher at the beginning of the 20th century. Some of his students became famous, notably Alberto Giacometti and Germaine Richier.
The exhibition highlights the complex relationships that can develop between a teacher and his or her pupils in art. It's about transmitting knowledge and transgressing pre-established codes.
More information about the exhibition: Transmission transgression
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6] You will go into museums that you would never have thought of visiting
European Heritage Days
Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 September
Over the course of one weekend, the City of Paris museums are organising a wide range of events to appeal to an equally wide audience.
A drawing workshop, lecture visits, performances, sound trails and concerts: all educational, and a fun way to explore the collections in the museums!
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7] You will spend a night totally devoted to culture
Up all night / Nuit Blanche 2018
Friday 5 October
Stay up all night to see the city of Paris in a new light. As it does every year, Paris is transformed into a giant cultural trail.
This 17th edition will take place under the sign of constellations dotted all over the capital. Exhibitions, happenings, and artistic and musical projects will give you a totally new angle on visiting Paris!
At the Cognacq-Jay Museum in particular, a huge sculpture by Franz West will be installed in the courtyard – an echo of the artist's exhibition outside the museum on a trail in the Marais.
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8] You will enjoy a concert, an escape game and a free after-work visit to a City of Paris museum.
Paris Musées 2018 FRINGE programme (Paris Musées OFF) events
Friday, 28 September from 7pm to 10pm at the Musée Bourdelle
Thursday, 11 October, from 7pm to 10pm at the Musée Cognacq-Jay
Friday, 21 December, from 7pm to 10pm at the Musée Cernuschi
Save these dates now! The Paris Musées FRINGE programme (Paris Musées OFF) for this last quarter promises to be as eclectic as it is original.
The formula remains the same: take part in events (free of charge, on registration) that set up a connection or a dialogue with the City of Paris museums and the exhibitions currently being held in them.
An imaginative way to get a new perspective on your museums!
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9] You will imagine yourself destitute in the desert
Exhibition: Ron Amir : Quelque part dans le désert / Somewhere in the Desert
From 14 September to 2 December at the Musée d'Art Moderne
Composed of thirty large-format colour photographs and six videos, the exhibition describes the living conditions of refugees from Sudan and Eritrea.
At the time, they were being held in the Holot detention centre in the Negev Desert.
Ron Amir followed them and captured their creativity, their sensibility and their instinct for survival.
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10] You will discover the trade of a marchand mercier and be immersed in the world of luxury
Exhibition: La Fabrique du Luxe / Manufacturing Luxury
From 29 September to 27 January 2019 at the Musée Cognacq-Jay
They were “merchants of everything & makers of nothing”.
They were at one and the same time traders, importers, collectors, designers and decorators.
They were in contact with the nobility, the craftsmen and the artists and they knew everything about 18th century fashion trends.
They were the tradespeople responsible for manufacturing luxury à la Parisienne. The Musée Cognacq-Jay traces the fortunes of some of these marchands merciers to paint a picture of this group of traders who formed one of the largest Parisian corporations.
More information about the exhibition: La Fabrique du Luxe / Manufacturing Luxury
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11] You will get to know everything about Monet, Tissot, Pissarro, Sisley and some others
Exhibition: Les Impressionnistes à Londres / Impressionists in London
Until 14 October 2018 at the Petit Palais
After France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, several artists went into exile in the United Kingdom to escape the hardships of the insurrection in Paris (La Commune). Their economic exile encouraged them to take an interest in the culture, the way of life and the aesthetics of the English landscape, and it produced a breath of modernity in the artistic world on that side of the Channel. It was particularly the case for certain impressionists such as Monet, Pissarro, and Tissot, as well as others of their compatriots.
This immersive exhibition features 140 works. Using digital tools, it takes a didactic approach to a little-known aspect of Impressionism: the time spent in London in the 1870s, which fostered the urge of impressionist painters to work on atmospheric phenomena and in the open-air.
More information about the exhibition: Les Impressionnistes à Londres / Impressionists in London
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12] You will get lost among huge artworks by Zao Wou-Ki
Exhibition: Zao Wou-Ki : L'espace est silence / Space is Silence
Until 9 January 2019
At the Musée d’Art Moderne
There is still time to let yourself be carried away by the large-format works of Chinese artist Zao Wou-ki. The Paris Musée d'Art Moderne is presenting the largest exhibition devoted to his works for fifteen years.
A selection of 40 works, some of which have never been exhibited in public reflects the vitality of his world and his experiments, which took inspiration from American painting, his travels, poetry, and music
More information about the exhibition: Zao Wou-Ki : L'espace est silence / Space is Silence
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13] You will spend a cultured weekend with your family, with nothing to pay
Family weekend
Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 December 2018
In the City of Paris museums
Note it down in your diaries straight away! The Family Weekend event offers children from 3 years old and their parents a new approach to visiting the museums.
Educational and recreational activities that resonate with the current exhibitions are available free of charge.
14] A large variety of activities that you can take part in throughout the year
The month after the holidays is also a time to make a few resolutions. Did you know that the City of Paris Museums organise a wide range of activities and lectures, all year round, for all tastes and interests?
Drawing lessons, lecture visits, walks, visual arts workshops - take a look at our schedule and choose an activity that suits you.
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(c) Capucine Requillart