In preparation for Bonjour Paris’s very own BP get together scheduled for this May 20th in DC, any Paris-Washington connections are more than welcome. Here are some fairly convincing reasons why the National Gallery of Art on the northern side of the National Mall (diagonally across from the Smithsonian) should be a destination for any visitor (or resident) looking for that undeniable French touch:
Quick, quick – run to these exhibitions before it’s too late!
Two closing exhibitions – Cezanne in Provence and Dada – end this month and should not be missed. The Cezanne show, marking the centennial of the artist’s death, is according to some experts one of the most comprehensive collections of the painter’s work ever to be amassed. Presented in a beautiful wing of the gallery situated around a sunny atrium and fountain, visitors might find themselves transported to Provence themselves. Spanning Cezanne’s career, highlighted by quotes from the artist on his consistent love of nature and the environment which he called home for most of his life (in and around Aix-en-Provence), the exhibition contains some arresting portraits, including one that might be his son, as well as his famous landscapes, which change and mature as the visitor advances through his oeuvre. Connoisseurs will be able to spot images of Cezanne’s family estate Jas de Bouffan, not to mention repeating studies of Mont Sainte-Victoire and the haunting, intensely-colored Chateau Noir. Ending this Sunday, those who actually do find themselves in Provence this summer (namely, at the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence) can catch this show from June 9–September 17, 2006.
Going in the other direction, those of you who missed the Dada show at the Pompidou Center last winter will have the chance to see this sweeping collection of all media pertaining to the avant-garde here at the National in DC until May 14th. After that it moves to the MOMA in New York for the summer.
Did someone say the Louvre pyramids?
There is one not-so-subtle reference at the Gallery here to a somewhat more famous art museum in central Paris, featured At a Theatre Near You later this month in The Da Vinci Code: those strange little dark glass pyramids situated in the plaza in front of the modern addition to the National Gallery remind one only of the world famous triptych of glass pyramids at the Louvre. The ones here in Washington, although
smaller and rather amorphous, clearly draw inspiration from their French predecessors, those which figure in Robert Langdon’s quest for esoteric knowledge in the Dan Brown novel. Placed directly between the modern and older buildings of the National Gallery, these pyramids sit above the underground ‘concourse’ which connects the two wings with an electric walkway (somewhat resembling those at Charles de Gaulle or in the Châtelet metro station).
Take your time with this gem
Perhaps the highlight of a visit to the National Gallery of Art is the permanent collection entitled simply Small French Paintings, in the modern building just as you enter across from the coat check. These paintings are all French and, well, never larger than poster-size. In a layout of extremely well-organized galleries designed for their display, the collection contains both well-known works by Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, and Camille Pissarro as well as lesser-known pieces by Berthe Morisot, Carolus-Duran, Odilon Redon and JJJ Tissot. Rarely crowded, this show allows for the studied spectator to wander languidly among the works of art as one might do in, say, France. If you happen to be in the area, this is definitely worth a peek.
Lastly, another show connection with France is the
Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris exhibition, which in Paris is called Le Douanier. Currently on view at the Galeries Nationales du Grand-Palais until June 19th, this show will land stateside at National Gallery of Art in Washington for the summer from July 16–October 15, 2006.
Check out
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/ for more information.
Copyright © Dan Heching
In preparation for Bonjour Paris’s very own BP get together scheduled for this May 20th in DC, any Paris-Washington connections are more than welcome. Here are some fairly convincing reasons why the National Gallery of Art on the northern side of the National Mall (diagonally across from the Smithsonian) should be a destination for any visitor (or resident) looking for that undeniable French touch:
Quick, quick – run to these exhibitions before it’s too late!
Two closing exhibitions – Cezanne in Provence and Dada – end this month and should not be missed. The Cezanne show, marking the centennial of the artist’s death, is according to some experts one of the most comprehensive collections of the painter’s work ever to be amassed. Presented in a beautiful wing of the gallery situated around a sunny atrium and fountain, visitors might find themselves transported to Provence themselves. Spanning Cezanne’s career, highlighted by quotes from the artist on his consistent love of nature and the environment which he called home for most of his life (in and around Aix-en-Provence), the exhibition contains some arresting portraits, including one that might be his son, as well as his famous landscapes, which change and mature as the visitor advances through his oeuvre. Connoisseurs will be able to spot images of Cezanne’s family estate Jas de Bouffan, not to mention repeating studies of Mont Sainte-Victoire and the haunting, intensely-colored Chateau Noir. Ending this Sunday, those who actually do find themselves in Provence this summer (namely, at the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence) can catch this show from June 9–September 17, 2006.
Going in the other direction, those of you who missed the Dada show at the Pompidou Center last winter will have the chance to see this sweeping collection of all media pertaining to the avant-garde here at the National in DC until May 14th. After that it moves to the MOMA in New York for the summer.
Did someone say the Louvre pyramids?
There is one not-so-subtle reference at the Gallery here to a somewhat more famous art museum in central Paris, featured At a Theatre Near You later this month in The Da Vinci Code: those strange little dark glass pyramids situated in the plaza in front of the modern addition to the National Gallery remind one only of the world famous triptych of glass pyramids at the Louvre. The ones here in Washington, although 
smaller and rather amorphous, clearly draw inspiration from their French predecessors, those which figure in Robert Langdon’s quest for esoteric knowledge in the Dan Brown novel. Placed directly between the modern and older buildings of the National Gallery, these pyramids sit above the underground ‘concourse’ which connects the two wings with an electric walkway (somewhat resembling those at Charles de Gaulle or in the Châtelet metro station).
Take your time with this gem
Perhaps the highlight of a visit to the National Gallery of Art is the permanent collection entitled simply Small French Paintings, in the modern building just as you enter across from the coat check. These paintings are all French and, well, never larger than poster-size. In a layout of extremely well-organized galleries designed for their display, the collection contains both well-known works by Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, and Camille Pissarro as well as lesser-known pieces by Berthe Morisot, Carolus-Duran, Odilon Redon and JJJ Tissot. Rarely crowded, this show allows for the studied spectator to wander languidly among the works of art as one might do in, say, France. If you happen to be in the area, this is definitely worth a peek.
Lastly, another show connection with France is the Henri Rousseau: Jungles in Paris exhibition, which in Paris is called Le Douanier. Currently on view at the Galeries Nationales du Grand-Palais until June 19th, this show will land stateside at National Gallery of Art in Washington for the summer from July 16–October 15, 2006.
Check out http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/ for more information.
Copyright © Dan Heching
