Treviso, Casa dei Carraresi
9 novembre 2002 - 30 marzo 2003

1. IMPRESSIONISM 1874-1879

In the introductory section, there will be place for all the famous names which have contributed to the achievement of the so called "nouvelle peinture". The beginning will be devoted to Jongkind and Boudin and to their new way of thinking the plein-air, which paved the way for Monet's work as well as Sisley's and Renoir's, for example. And if Bazille was already dead in 1874, highlight will be given to the work of Pissarro, Guillaumin, and Caillebotte, still dealing with landscape. And indeed the works of Manet, Cézanne and Degas will have a central and fundamental role.

2. IMPRESSIONISM 1880-1883

Manet's death marks a new breaking point with which the second chapter ends. After the seventh Impressionist exhibition in 1882, four years passed by before the eighth and last one took place. These were also the years of the first and great Impressionist crisis, with the parting of Cézanne and the unsteady presence of Monet, Renoir, Sisley and Degas. Of the latest, there will be a sculpture exhibited in the Impressionist exposition of 1881, Petite danseuse de quatorze ans. These painters will be followed by Morisot, Fantin-Latour, Gauguin in his very first attempts and again Tissot, Whistler who will open the small cluster of non-French artists linked to the Impressionists: also Cassat, Sargent, De Nittis and Zandomeneghi.

3. IMPRESSIONISM AND FURTHER: 1884-1890

By then, the mature period of Impressionism was coming to an end and the exhibition will show this swing towards experiences which did not fail to influence even Van Gogh on his arrival in Paris, in time to visit the eighth Impressionist exposition. Most of the artists of the first section will reappear here, in a new period of their career, namely the decisive parting moment from the experiences of the early years: Cézanne, Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, Caillebotte, Cassat, Gauguin and the cloisonnisme, Whistler, Sargent, together with the first attempts by Toulouse-Lautrec. Also, the 1886 exhibition highlighted the new energy, in fact not unanimously accepted even by all the artists, of Seurat and Signac among others. The results of this new technique were shortly evident in many European countries.

4. RODIN

If it is clear that Auguste Rodin cannot be considered in all respects the sculptor of Impressionism, it is just as true that his work caused great enthusiasm, expecially with Monet. This section, that will include some sculptures by Rodin already realized before 1890, is made in memory of that exhibition they held together at Georges Petit Gallery in 1889.

5. VAN GOGH

About 30 works by Van Gogh, paintings and works on paper, will close the exhibition. This will highlight a presence that, during the 1880s, became more and more central to painting in France, although starting from Dutch beginnings well represented in the exhibition. And just when Impressionism seemed to have exhausted its force and each of those protagonists set out on his own independent course, Van Gogh strenghtened his new world with a thrust that placed him, together with Monet, Cézanne and the other rising star Gauguin, at the centre of an itinerary that turned out to be the foundation for 20th century art. With this thought, at the dazzling sight of Van Gogh, the exhibition will end.

UP