PRAGUE, Nov. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The National Gallery Prague presents the exhibition “École de Paris: Artists from Bohemia and Interwar Paris”, which focuses on a significant, but thus far little-mapped chapter of Czech art in France. The exhibition will take place from 8 November 2024 to 2 March 2025 at the Waldenstein Riding School. It offers insight into artists more famous in interwar Paris than in their own country, such as Georges Kars, Othon Coubine and François Zdeněk Eberl, whose work will be exhibited in Prague for the first time.
Georges Kars, WhiteHouse, 1933, Photo (c) National Gallery Prague (PRNewsfoto/National Gallery Prague)
According to curator Anna Pravdová, the exhibition guides visitors through the Paris art scene of the 1920s and 1930s: “Even though the names František Kupka, Josef Šíma, Jindřich Štyrský and Toyen are now most often associated with Czech art in France, the Paris public of the time had very different favourites. Kars, Coubine and Eberl were much better known; they were exhibited in the most prestigious galleries. We will present their work in the broader context of the Paris school.” In addition to works by these three key artists, the exhibition also showcases works by their contemporaries, such as Amedeo Modigliani, Marc Chagall, Suzanne Valadon, Chaïm Soutine, Jules Pascin, Chana Orloff and Maurice Utrillo.
Interwar Paris, diversity and freedom
Between the two world wars, Paris was the centre of the cosmopolitan art world, where different styles mingled. The exhibition transports visitors to galleries, salons and Montmartre, introducing them artists and collectors, but also prostitutes and people on the margins of society. It features scenes from cabarets, portraits of artists, still lifes and Provençal landscapes.
Regarding the exhibition, General Director of the National Gallery Prague Alicja Knast states: “Everyone is warmly invited to immerse themselves in interwar Paris with us and enjoy the art of Kars, Coubine and Eberl, Czech painters who succeeded in establishing themselves there. I view the Paris school above all as a strong symbol of how diversity and freedom can support exceptional creativity.”
There will be a unique opportunity to see a number of works in Prague recently discovered in American collections that are returning to Europe for the first time, such as a set of works by Othon Coubine, which belonged to the collector Leo Stein, the brother of writer Gertrude Stein.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2549251/National_Gallery_Prague.jpg
