Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Art
While art in Paris today means anything and everything - bold installations in
the metro, monumental wall frescos, mechanical sculpture, suburban tags and
other gregarious street art - the city's rich art heritage has its roots firmly em-
bedded in the traditional genres of painting and sculpture.
Art installation outside the Musée d'Orsay
BRUNO DE HOGUES / GETTY IMAGES ©
Baroque to Neoclassicism
According to philosopher Voltaire, French painting proper began with baroque painter Nic-
olas Poussin (1594-1665), the greatest representative of 17th-century classicism, who fre-
quently set scenes from ancient Rome, classical mythology and the Bible in ordered land-
scapes bathed in golden light.
