The world at your feet

The three works are central to this large impressionism exhibition, and the whole story is told around them: what we cherish so much about the city, and what we collectively prefer to forget. Paris was in motion during those years, there was life, the world was at your feet. A ‘liveable’ city with growing pains, which drove those who had the least to the frayed edges. War and political unrest would leave lasting traces. Exploitation was there, as was the lasting view of an uncertain future.

The Parisian

The fashionable Parisienne becomes the epitome of the new Paris. Suddenly, there are public spaces such as department stores and theatres that offer her much more freedom. It is looking and being looked at. Times are changing, that is exactly what fashion shows in the street scene. In Paris, the new woman is everywhere: from who wears couture, who makes it, who portrays it to who looks at it and what it triggers. At the same time, female artists such as Morisot and Cassat could not go to the café with male colleagues, that was still not done. Where, for example, Manet or Renoir portray the Parisienne as a type or symbol for the city, Cassatt and Morisot portray women as individuals.

Living, shopping, toiling

The new Paris was built on the backs of hard-working people, thousands of masons, carpenters and other workers were hired – but the city was built for the rich. In New Paris: From Monet to Morisot you see not only the rise of leisure, of advertising, but also the faces of the people who were overlooked at the time. Those who made everything possible, without being allowed to taste the luxury.

Promising future

There was unrest in the world. Prussia surrounded the French capital, the beautiful new boulevards, squares and parks were destroyed. Many died and the Tuileries Palace went up in flames. But Monet could not have known that on that balcony in 1867. He looked out over the enchanting city and a promising future. The time of change was within reach for the Impressionists. Bazille was clear about his Impressionists: ‘You will see that everyone will be talking about us.’

The exhibition is composed of a treasure trove of paintings, drawings and photographs, but also gathered posters, correspondence and cartoons to capture Paris 1867 in full colour. The exhibition is supported by numerous museum and private lenders, with partners such as Alte Nationalgalerie (Berlin), Allen Memorial Art Museum (Oberlin), and others such as Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris (Paris), The National Gallery of art (Washington), The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Musée d’Orsay (Paris), Musée Marmottan Monet (Paris), Museum Barberini (Rome) and many other collections.