Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
César Baldaccini (1921-98), known simply as César, used iron and scrap metal to create
imaginary insects and animals, later graduating to pliable plastics. Among his best-
known works are the Centaur statue in the 6e and the statuette handed to actors at the
Césars (French cinema's equivalent of the Oscars).
Impressionism
Paris' Musée d'Orsay is the crown jewel of impressionism. Initially a term of derision, 'im-
pressionism' was taken from the title of an 1874 experimental painting,
Impression: Soleil
Levant
(Impression: Sunrise) by Claude Monet (1840-1926). Monet was the leading figure
of the school, and a visit to the Musée d'Orsay unveils a host of other members, among
them Alfred Sisley (1839-99), Camille Pissarro (1830-1903), Pierre-Auguste Renoir
(1841-1919) and Berthe Morisot (1841-95). The impressionists' main aim was to capture
the effects of fleeting light, painting almost universally in the open air - and light came to
dominate the content of their painting.
Edgar Degas (1834-1917), buried in Cimetière de Montmartre, was a fellow traveller of
the impressionists, but he preferred painting cafe life
(Absinthe)
and in ballet studios
(The
Dance Class)
than the great outdoors - several beautiful examples hang in the Musée
d'Orsay.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) was a great admirer of Degas but chose subjects
one or two notches below: people in the bistros, brothels and music halls of Montmartre (eg
Au Moulin Rouge
). He is best known for his posters and lithographs, in which the distortion
of the figures is both satirical and decorative.
Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) is celebrated for his still lifes and landscapes depicting south-
ern France, though he spent many years in Paris after breaking with the impressionists. The
name of Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) immediately conjures up studies of Tahitian and Breton
women. Both Cézanne and Gauguin were postimpressionists, a catch-all term for the diverse
styles that flowed from impressionism.
