ESSEN.- The exhibition 'Chagall, Matisse, Miró: Made in Paris' is dedicated to Paris as the most important European center for the production of prints and artists‘ books in the 20th century. It presents classic masterpieces by artists such as Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso. With works by Roland Topor, Jim Dine and David Lynch, among others, the exhibition traces the development up to the present day. More than 250 exhibits at the Museum Folkwang bring to life a central chapter in the history of modern art.

For 130 years, Paris has been a centre for the production of original graphic works of art. As early as the late 19th century, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec or Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen created prints and original lithographic posters here, which were enthusiastically received and passionately collected by their contemporaries. Following on from this, Paris rapidly developed into a leading place for the production and distribution of prints in the 20th century.

Artists such as Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Max Ernst or Joan Miró produced woodcuts, etchings or lithographs here, with which they could reach a wider public than with paintings. Artists' books with original graphics have a special status: In creative dialogue with a literary model, pictorial motifs were created that illustrate and comment on the respective text in a unique way. The initiative oft en came from publishers such as Ambroise Vollard, Tériade or Aimé Maeght, but the specialised printing workshops also played an important role in the creation of the works. Despite their title, artists' books were usually not bound but sold as portfolios of individual sheets, which allowed for a variety of forms of presentation.

Based on the collection of Museum Folkwang, Made in Paris presents outstanding original graphic artists' books and portfolio works from the early 20th century to the present, including Jazz by Henri Matisse, La Tauromaquia by Pablo Picasso, A toute épreuve by Joan Miró or Daphnis et Chloé by Marc Chagall. The exhibition is supplemented by loans from public and private collections. Prints and posters from the late 19th century evoke the beginning of the graphic arts boom in Paris. Selected paintings illustrate the connections between the genres in terms of content and style. The fact that the Parisian print tradition continues to this day is shown by selected works from recent years, including those by Jim Dine and David Lynch.

AMONG OTHERS, THE EXHIBITION INCLUDES WORKS BY:

Georges Braque, Marc Chagall, Robert Delaunay, Jim Dine, Max Ernst, Fernand Léger, David Lynch, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Museum Folkwang
'Chagall, Matisse, Miró: Made in Paris
September 1st, 2023 - January 07th, 2024