11 must-see exhibitions in Paris this autumn

From Chagall to Van Gogh and Alphonse Mucha, the greatest artists in the history of art are coming to Paris in 2023. From the Louvre to the Musée d'Orsay, the great Parisian museums are hosting magnificent masterpieces that will delight culture lovers. Here is our selection of must-see exhibitions to discover during a stay in Paris.

"Chagall, Paris-New-York", at the Atelier des Lumières

*From February 17, 2023 to January 7, 2024

A figure of modern art, Marc Chagall is the guest of honor of the immersive exhibition "Chagall, Paris-New-York" throughout the year 2023 at the Atelier des Lumières, a digital art center in Paris. Monumental projections to rediscover the works of this cosmopolitan artist: The Blue House, Paris by the Window, The Wolf and the Stork and the ceiling of the Garnier Opera.
Paul Klee, a major painter of the first half of the 20th century, is the subject of a second exhibition: a poetic escape where the visitor discovers some of the 10,000 paintings and drawings of this artist who was greatly influenced by music and opera.

Visit the Atelier des Lumières (External link)

"Eternal Mucha" at the Grand Palais Immersive

*From March 22 to November 5, 2023

In collaboration with the Mucha Foundation, the Grand Palais Immersif offers an immersive and interactive exhibition to rediscover an avant-garde artist whose work continues to inspire contemporary designers. The exhibition tells the visitor the story of Alphonse Mucha, a figure of Art Nouveau, and his humanist ambition in three acts: as a master of poster design in Paris; at the turning point of his career in 1900, when he became heavily involved in the Paris Universal Exhibition; and through the presentation of his monumental works, notably The Slavic Epic, which develops a vision of Slavic history as a pacifist model of the world that resonates today more than ever.

Visit the Grand Palais Immersif (External link)

"Naples in Paris. The Louvre invites the Capodimonte Museum".

*From 7 June 2023 to 8 January 2024

From Michelangelo to Raphael, the great names of Italian painting will be on display at the Louvre in 2023 as part of a partnership with the Capodimonte Museum in Naples, a former hunting residence of the Bourbons of Naples. From the Grande Galerie to the Salle de la Chapelle and the Salle de l'horloge, the Louvre will be transformed into a Neapolitan palace from June onwards with more than 60 masterpieces from the Farnese and Bourbon collections.

Visit the Louvre (External link)

"Gertrude Stein and Pablo Picasso" at the Musée du Luxembourg

From 13 September 2023 to 28 January 2024

Would Pablo Picasso have enjoyed the same success without the support of his friend and modern art collector Gertrude Stein? Probably not. 50 years after the death of the Spanish genius, the Musée du Luxembourg is celebrating this unparalleled friendship based on complicity and a taste for creativity. The paintings of the master of Cubism, including Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, seem to be in dialogue with the poems of the American writer. The exhibition also sheds light on Gertrude Stein's relationship with avant-garde artists such as Henri Matisse and Jean Cocteau, while highlighting the role of Picasso's work on the figures of the Pop Art movement such as Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg.

Visit the Musée du Luxembourg (External link)

Nicolas de Staël at the Musée d'art moderne de Paris

From 15 September 2023 to 21 January 2024

Somewhere between figuration and abstraction, Nicolas de Staël's work occupies a special place in the history of art. This autumn, the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris will be staging a retrospective of his work. 200 paintings, drawings, engravings and notebooks are on show, including several acclaimed masterpieces such as Parc des Princes and Agrigente, as well as works exhibited for the first time in France, providing a new perspective on her work.

Visit the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris (External link)

"Amedeo Modigliani. A painter and his retailer" at the Musée de l'Orangerie

From 20 September 2023 to 15 January 2024.

This is one of the most eagerly awaited exhibitions of autumn 2023. Starting this autumn, the Musée de L'Orangerie will be exploring the artistic and friendly ties between Amadeo Modigliani, the master of the Expressionist movement, and his dealer, Paul Guillaume, who played a decisive role in the artist's international career in the early 20th century. With iconic portraits, controversial sculptures, female nudes and biographical accounts of the collector, we rediscover Modigliani's revolutionary work in a new light.

Visit the Musée de l'Orangerie (External link)

"Azzedine Alaïa, couturier collectionneur" at the Palais Galliera

*From 27 September 2023 to 21 January 2024.

A renowned designer, Azzedine Alaïa was also a great collector. A priceless treasure trove of 20,000 pieces by the great French and international couturiers was kept in the greatest secrecy until his death in 2017.
Jeanne Lanvin, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Gabrielle Chanel, Madeleine Vionnet, Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler... Around a hundred of these designer pieces can be discovered this autumn at the Palais Galliera as part of a brand new exhibition. The icing on the cake is a visit to the Museum of Modern Art, opposite the Palais Galliera, where visitors can admire three stage costumes designed in 1919 by Henri Matisse for the Ballets Russes.

Visit the Palais Galliera (External link)

"Van Gogh at Auvers-sur-Oise: the last months" at the Musée d'Orsay

From 3 October 2023 to 4 February 2024

Every exhibition devoted to the work of Vincent Van Gogh is an event. This autumn's exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay is no exception. For the first time, the exhibition focuses on the last two months of the artist's life, spent in Auvers-sur-Oise, in the French Vexin Regional Nature Park near Paris. This was a productive and pivotal period, as the Dutch master produced 74 paintings and 33 drawings, including some of his greatest masterpieces such as Le Docteur Paul Gachet, L'église d'Auvers-sur-Oise, and Le Champ de blé aux corbeaux. Rural landscapes, still lifes, portraits, representations of the village, 40 paintings and 20 drawings by Van Gogh are to be discovered in the context of this exhibition, including the unique series of works in the elongated double-square format.

Visit the Musée d'Orsay (External link)

"Mike Kelley: Ghost and Spirit" at the Bourse de Commerce Pinault Collection

*From 13 October 2023 to 19 February 2024

Inspired by punk and underground culture, Mike Kelley was one of the most influential American visual artists of the late 20th century. Ten years after his death, the Pinault Collection is revisiting his subversive, innovative and unclassifiable work. His wryly humorous sculptures, large-format plush toys highlighting the excesses of consumer society, and miniature cities under glass (kandors) are all on show.

Visit the Bourse de Commerce Pinault Collection (External link)

Mark Rothko at the Fondation Louis Vuitton

From 18 October 2023 to 2 April 2024

Mark Rothko, a leading figure in Abstract Expressionism, is the guest of honour at the Fondation Louis Vuitton this autumn in a retrospective exhibition retracing his work through 115 paintings from major international collections. From urban landscapes and ancient myths to surrealism, the tour follows the painter's artistic evolution towards abstraction, as illustrated by
the Multiformes series, characterised by suspended masses of colour and superimposed rectangular shapes. The exhibition also includes two major installations, including a recreation of one of the rooms in the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and a set of bright red murals intended for the Four Seasons restaurant, which the artist eventually kept.

Visit the Fondation Louis Vuitton (External link)

"Picasso: Drawing to Infinity" at the Centre Pompidou

*From 18 October 2023 to 15 January 2024

The Centre Pompidou is in turn paying tribute to the work of Picasso 50 years after the death of the master of Cubism, with an exhibition devoted to his drawings. Visitors can see 1,000 works, including the artist's notebooks and several series of engravings. Visitors can revisit the career of the Iberian genius by delving into his private life, from his beginnings to his last works.

Visit the Centre Pompidou (External link)

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