L'esprit: Exploring Wit and Beauty in French Prints Exhibition

Celebrate the joys and foibles of French society and culture between 1830 and 1930, when Paris was the world capital of artistic creativity, innovation, and opportunity. The daily life of all people “from the city and country, rich and poor, famous and anonymous “grew to become a most popular subject. The exhibition is organized according to several major themes that dominate the museum s holdings, and fully half of our collection s French prints are featured. These include depictions that glorify or ridicule the ever-present French State, landscapes of the monuments and street life found in big towns and cities, bucolic renditions of farm life, the adoration of beautiful women, the love of children, and the fruitful relationship that arose between printmaking and literature. Among the artists on view are Théodore Géricault, Honoré Daumier, Charles Méryon, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Georges Rouault, and James Tissot. A small number of our French photographs round out the display.