Degas to Picasso: Creating Modernism in France

Paris became the center of modern art beginning in the nineteenth century. Artists from around the world, including Delacroix, Manet, Cézanne, Cassatt, Van Gogh, Chagall, and Picasso, gathered in its studios, galleries, salons, and museums. They moved away from traditional subjects and styles and, through experimentation, actively charted a course toward abstract art. Degas to Picasso: Creating Modernism in France tells the story of modern art as it evolved during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, through 150 works representing transformative movements such as Impressionism and Cubism. This exhibition focuses especially on drawings, shown alongside important paintings, sculptures, and prints, to highlight the crucial role that process and materials played in the experimentation and development of modern art.

Supporting Events

Gallery Talks

Tues, 1:30 p.m.

Nov 14 with Nikki Otten, research assistant, prints and drawings

Dec 12 and Jan 23 with Britany Salsbury, associate curator of prints and drawings

30-Min. Express Talks

Meijer Free First Thursdays

Thurs, noon

Dec 7 and Jan 4

Lecture: “Traditional Painting Violated”: Picasso and the Art of Emulation

Thurs, Nov 16, 6:15 p.m.

Explore the work of Pablo Picasso and his relationship to traditions in European art, with Katie Hanson, PhD, assistant curator for European paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and curator of that institution’s exhibition Pairing Picasso.

Out of the Vault: Works on Paper from Degas to Picasso

Thurs, Dec 14, 1:30 p.m.

Sign up for this special viewing of prints and drawings from the Museum’s collection related to Degas to Picasso, with Amanda Brown, collection manager of works on paper. Herzfeld Study Center. Space is limited. RSVP to studycenter@mam.org or call414-224-3817.

Kohl’s Art Generation Open Studio: Follow the Line

Throughout November

Explore the rise of modernism. Inspired by the drawings in the exhibition Degas to Picasso: Creating Modernism in France, sketch a figure using gestural mark making, illustrate the many sides of an object on a single page, and express emotion with a single line. Transform your drawing into a print using an etching press. And, experiment with rich chalk pastels, rough charcoal, and transparent washes of watercolor.

An audio guide and free family guide accompany this exhibition.