 ECHAPPEES NORDIQUES
Scandinavian and Finnish Masters in France - 1870-1914
From 10/10/2008 to 11/01/2009
Palais des Beaux Arts de Lille (Fine Arts Museum)
Between 1870 and 1914, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish artists flocked to France to
perfect their craft. Leaving Germany and Italy behind, these artists naturally covered considerable ground in Paris, then capital of the arts, but also migrated as far as Brittany, Normandy, Picardy and la Manche. Given the quality and fresh authenticity of their work, wherein they strove to depict everyday life in France and in their own countries, they promptly attracted the attention of such notable French masters as Puvis de Chavannes, Monet, Cazin and Rodin as well as that of the public at large.
The Paris Expositions Universelles of 1889 and 1900 firmly established their reputations and the French government, in the wake of such enthusiasm, acquired a number of their works. These now constitute an exceptional collection shared by the Musée d’Orsay and other public collections in France.
The past few years have witnessed a number of monographic and collective exhibitions dedicated to these painters. Through a selection of 105 works – mainly paintings but also drawings, engravings and sculptures – the exhibition presented by the Palais des Beaux-Arts of Lille takes a fascinating and original angle. Amply illustrating the genius inherent to Scandinavian art, the exhibition conjures up the genuine fascination it has generated in France thanks to the artists’ profound attachment to nature, to the vividly resonant, mystic aspiration of the values they extolled and to their own expressive plastic language.
The exceptional collection of stirring portraits, of ordinary, intimate scenes and of vast snow-
and sea-scapes includes works by such prestigious artists as Vilhelm Hammershøi and Peder
Krøyer (Denmark), Albert Edelfelt and Ville Vallgren (Finland), Fritz Thaulow and Edvard Munch (Norway), and Hugo Salmson, August Strindberg and Anders Zorn (Sweden).
Firmly positioned at the crossroads of Northern Europe and confident of its international stature, Lille presents the first exhibition of its kind, showing Scandinavian artworks drawn exclusively from treasures held in the museums of France.
This exhibition is made possible thanks to support from the Embassies of Denmark, Finland,
Norway and Sweden and from the Nordic Council of Ministers. It is part of the European Cultural Season and has been organised in special collaboration with the Musée d’Orsay.
Free with the City Pass
Palais des Beaux Arts de Lille
Place de la République
59000 Lille
Téléphone + 33 3 20 06 78 00 www.pba-lille.fr
Crédit Photo
Achen Georg Nicolaj (1860-1912), école danoise - Intérieur - Paris, musée d'Orsay (c) RMN - photo : Jean-Pierre Lagiewski
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SCANDINAVIAN AND FINNISH MASTERS IN FRANCE
