#layer-wysiwyg-3150

October 5, 2024 – January 5, 2025

#layer-spotlight-3345
Play video

The Movements that Made Us Modern

In France, the years between the Revolution of 1848 and the end of World War II were characterized by sweeping social, intellectual, and political change. The Western art world, centered in Paris, also witnessed remarkable transformations as artists experimented with bold, expressive styles that revitalized traditional genres. 

#layer-wysiwyg-3151

French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850 – 1950 showcases more than 50 works from the distinguished Brooklyn Museum collection, encompassing the key avant-garde movements that emerged in and around Paris during this period. Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, Fauvism, Cubism, and Surrealism are represented in remarkable examples by the era’s leading artists, including Paul Cézanne, Marc Chagall, Camille Corot, Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, and more.

French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850 – 1950 is organized by Lisa Small, Senior Curator of European Art, and Richard Aste, former Curator of European Art, Brooklyn Museum.

#layer-gallery-3315
three people and a dog in a dark wood

Bathers by a Woodland Stream

1859
Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña
(French, 1807-1876)
Oil on canvas
Brooklyn Museum
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Gladstone in memory of Sylvia Israel.
Photo: Brooklyn Museum

peaceful looking woods with a house visible in the distance through the trees

The Climb, Rue de la Côte-du-Jalet, Pontoise (Chemin montant, rue de la Côte-du-Jalet, Pontoise)

1875
Camille Jacob Pissarro
(Saint Thomas, (former Danish West Indies)
1830–1903, Paris, France)
Oil on canvas
Brooklyn Museum
Purchased with funds given by Dikran G. Kelekian.
Photo: Brooklyn Museum

a large, ominous ocean wave below a stormy sky

The Wave (La Vague)

ca. 1869
Gustave Courbet
(French, 1819-1877).
Oil on canvas.
Brooklyn Museum
Gift of Mrs. Horace O. Havemeyer.
Photo: Brooklyn Museum

a cottage overlooking the ocean

Rising Tide at Pourville

1882
Claude Monet
(French, 1840–1926)
Oil on canvas, 26 x 32 in. (66 x 81.3cm)
Brooklyn Museum
Gift of Mrs. Horace O. Havemeyer, 41.1260. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Photo: Brooklyn Museum

a bronze statue of a nude young man posing confidently with his right hand on his head, elbow forward, and his left hand raised in a shoulder-level fist

The Age of Bronze

medium-sized model, first reduction, 1876; cast 1967.
Auguste Rodin
(French, 1840-1917)
Bronze, 41 ¼ x 15 x 13 in. (104.8 x 38.1 x 33 cm).
Brooklyn Museum,
Gift of B. Gerald Cantor, 68.49.
Photo: Brooklyn Museum

a young woman shown in muted, melancholy colors with her eyes cast slightly downward and her left hand raised to her heart

The Young Woman of Albano

1872
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
(French, 1796–1875)
Oil on canvas, 29 3/16 x 25 13/16 in. (74.1 x 65.6 cm).
Brooklyn Museum,
Gift of Mrs. Horace O. Havemeyer, 42.196.
Photo: Sarah DeSantis, Brooklyn Museum

a woman sitting at the base of a spindly tree with a view down a hill

The Vineyards at Cagnes

1908
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
(French, 1841–1919)
Oil on canvas, 18 1/4 x 21 3/4 in. (46.4 x 55.2 cm).
Brooklyn Museum
Gift of Colonel and Mrs. Edgar W. Garbisch, 51.219.
Photo: Brooklyn Museum

#layer-events-3158

Related Events

See All Related Events
See All Related Events
#layer-wysiwyg-3300

Book a Tour and Save

Get insight from a docent on a guided tour of the exhibition, and save $4 a person on admission. When your tour is over, please continue exploring the galleries for as long as you'd like!

Learn More

#layer-wysiwyg-3378

Multimedia Tour: French Moderns

Senior Curator Michael Neumeister and Curator of Education Glenna Barlow dig into some of the works on view in this audio and video tour.

Take the Tour

#layer-sponsors-3169

Sponsors