French Art 1900-30
New display of the permanent collection
Amedeo Modiglinani, Alice, ca. 1916. André Derain, Kvinde i chemise, 1906. Jean Metzinger, Sommeren, 1916
In the new display of the French collection, you can experience some of the museum's most famous works by artists such as Picasso, Braque, Derain and Matisse. The starting point for the display is Paris, the most important art metropolis in the early 1900s.
© Paintings from the collection of French Art 1900-1930: Kees van Dongen, The Dancer Anita, Othon Friesz, Sunken Road in Winther and André Derain, Woman in a Chemise © SMK Foto.
Paris - The place to be
From 1900-1930, Paris was the focal point and beacon for artists, writers and collectors from throughout the Western world. It was here that artists traveled if they would be updated on the latest trends in art. It was here they settled, if they wanted to be a part of the new trends.
The display reflects this environment by focusing on how artists influenced each other. We draw lines between the different works and look at how the artists worked with and responded to each other's ideas.
© Cubism. A glimpse in the display. © SMK Foto.
Experimental
When you walk through the exhibition, you will notice striking diversity. Many artists tried several forms of stylistic expression and worked with various techniques. This experimental trend means that you can find very different works by the same artist.
Provocative
What these very different works have in common is that they received much attention for their distinctive vision of what modern and contemporary art would look like. Criticism raged and some artists were at the beginning of the century accused of blob painting.
© Sculptures in the French collection. © SMK Foto.
Sculpture and Drawing
In the exhibition you can view some of the light-sensitive works on paper, which are very rarely exhibited. Matisse’s Zulma is a prominent example of this type of work. The last display room is reserved for sculptures in three-dimensional form and summarizes the many facets of the art produced in France between 1900 and 1930.
The French collection
The museum's distinguished collection of French modernism is included in the collection of Danish and International Art after 1900. However, it can also be seen as a separate entity having its own history and rationale. The French collection, therefore, has its own space and is prominently displayed in the old museum building in a number of the museum's most beautiful spaces.
