Chagall, Matisse, Miró. Made in Paris presents highlights of Parisian print art

From 1 September 2023 to 7 January 2024, Museum Folkwang will be showing the exhibition Chagall, Matisse, Miró. Made in Paris. The show tells the story of Paris as the centre of production of original graphic artists' books and portfolio works over a period of more than 120 years. It presents 250 masterpieces on paper - including works by Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró or Pablo Picasso. 16 selected paintings illustrate the connections between graphic art and painting. Works by Jim Dine and David Lynch, among others, trace the development up to the present day.

Chagall, Matisse, Miró. Made in Paris takes its starting point in the late 19th century, when artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec or Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen created lithographic posters, but also small-format prints. They contributed significantly to the increasing popularity of Paris as an important centre for artistic print production. In addition to specialised printing workshops such as Mourlot Frères, publishers such as Ambroise Vollard or Tériade, who often took the initiative for certain works, were decisive for further development in the 20th century. Important artists' books by Edvard Munch, Henri Matisse and Fernand Legér, among others, were produced, making it possible for the first time for a larger public to acquire works of art.

Over the course of three decades, Ambroise Vollard initiated print portfolios and artists' books with a wide range of artists, including Pierre Bonnard, Maurice Denis, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso or Marc Chagall. After the Second World War, Tériade continued these activities and published Jazz by Henri Matisse, Cirque by Fernand Léger or Daphnis et Chloé by Marc Chagall, which are now classics of the genre. While the era of classical artists' books came to an end around 1970, the Parisian print tradition remained alive. The exhibition shows this continuation by contemporary artists such as Jim Dine, Frédérique Loutz and David Lynch, who work in the city's established workshops.

The majority of the exhibited works come from the collection of Museum Folkwang. The majority of the artist's books, portfolios or individual sheets were acquired at the time of their creation, but have rarely or never been presented before. Important loans from institutional and private collections complement the presentation. Selected paintings by Chagall, Miró and Picasso document the often close stylistic and thematic connection between prints and paintings.

The exhibition Chagall, Matisse, Miró. Made in Paris not only offers an in-depth exploration of the history of Paris as an artistic printing centre, but also highlights the ongoing importance of this tradition for the international art scene.

Sponsored by the Evonik Foundation and Bankhaus Metzler.

Information

CHAGALL, MATISSE, MIRÓ
Made in Paris

1 September 2023 – 7 January 2024


Tickets at: https://museum-folkwang.ticketfritz.de
Admission: 10 € (regular) / 6 € (concessions)
Family Card I: 20,50 € / Family Card II: 10,50 €

Guided tours can be booked through the visitor service at: info@museum-folkwang.essen.de
 

Documents

Henri Matisse
Icare (Ikarus), 1947
Plate 1 from the portfolio Jazz
Pochoir, 42 x 32 cm
© Succession H. Matisse / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2023
Photograph: Museum Folkwang, Essen

Media
Press image

Henri Matisse
Icare (Ikarus), 1947
Plate 1 from the portfolio Jazz
Pochoir, 42 x 32 cm
© Succession H. Matisse / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2023
Photograph: Museum Folkwang, Essen