Paris at the Detroit Institute of Arts

"Political Woman," 1883-85. By James Tissot. On loan from Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

At the Detroit Institute of Arts on Saturday, we saw a number of works that depict Paris or were characteristic of life in Paris in the 18th and 19th centuries. I took photos of some of these to share with the blog event "Paris in July" (link).

First, we visited an exhibit titled "Humble and Human: Impressionist Era Treasures from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Detroit Institute of Arts." The DIA has a great collection of Impressionist paintings, and the visiting works made a welcome addition.

James Tissot's "L'Ambitieuse" or "Political Woman," shown above, was one of a series expressing "biting observations of Parisian society in the late 1800s." The woman is elaborately dressed in a pink gown -- overdressed compared to the other women in the painting. Her companion is a much older man, and other men are staring. The image "presents a complex visual narrative" in which she's trying to improve her social position. (Information from the label in the exhibit.)

I've mentioned the many connections between the author Zola, whose books I've been reading, and the painters of his time: there are many links between this picture and the social nuances and class-consciousness that Zola describes in books such as Nana and Au Bonheur des Dames.

Study for "Le Pont de l'Europe" 1876. By Gustave Caillebotte. On loan from Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
Caillebotte made several oil sketches and preliminary studies for this painting of a bridge over a huge rail yard in Paris.

Caillebotte's study for "Le Pont de l'Europe" -- detail.

"Le Pont de l'Europe" 1876. By Gustave Caillebotte. Geneva. (From Wikipedia.)
Caillebotte showed this finished version a the Impressionist exhibition of 1877.

The second iconically Parisian painting in the exhibit was Caillebotte's study for the bridge over the rail yards at the Paris Gare Saint-Lazare, which remains an important train station in Paris today. It's been a favorite subject of art and photography: Caillebotte's contemporaries Manet and Monet; 20th century photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, and various others created images of the station. Critics point out that Caillebotte was employing techniques that originated in photography, then an emerging art form, and that his interest in industrial imagery was a novelty at the time.

"Made in Paris"

The decorative arts section of the DIA includes a large collection of objects made for the upper class Parisians, including the nobility and the monarchs, mainly during the 18th century before the French Revolution. The workshops, the craftsmen, and the luxury shops were all part of the Paris atmosphere: alongside the grinding poverty and desperation of most of the residents.

Titled "Made in Paris," this exhibition includes furniture, portraits, fine china, and many items that would have been used at lavish banquets, in lavish drawing rooms, and on display shelves in the showy palaces and mansions of the time. "In the 1700s, if you had a taste for luxury and price was no issue, there was no place like Paris," says the placard in the photo below. "It was the richest city in the richest country in all of Europe, and the undisputed center for luxury goods."

Silver Tureen with Lid and Stand, 1729-30. By Thomas Germain,
Paris's premier silversmith in the early 1700s.

Luxury porcelain from France, 18th century.

Cup and Saucer, about 1785. Sèvres Manufactory.

An Alderman of Paris, 1703. By Nicholas de Largillierre.

All photos copyright 2019 by Mae & Len Sander (except as noted). This blog post was created by Mae for maefood dot blogspot dot com. If you read it elsewhere, it's been stolen.