Fine art in France has always developed rapidly in its own special way and meets the spirit of the times. Now in Paris in the Center Pompidou is one of the most visited art museums and museums of modern art in the world.
Museum History
The National Museum of Modern Art of Paris was completely open to visitors 71 years ago - June 9, 1947. It was originally located in the Tokyo Palace. But, later - in 1977, when the Georges Pompidou Center was built, the museum moved there. There he is to this day.
The idea of creating the Museum of Modern Art in Paris arose in 1937, impressed by a similar institution in Luxembourg, which is considered the oldest in Europe. It opened in the 19th century. The collection was gradually formed, but the process was interrupted in 1939 due to World War II. In 1940, the first director was appointed, and in 1942 the museum was partially opened to visitors.
The first director of the Museum of Modern Art of Paris named Jean Cassoux was familiar with the families of some famous artists, for example, the family of Pablo Picasso, so the collection began to quickly replenish with works of art.
Museum today
The museum is located on the 4th, 5th and 6th floor of the Pompidou Center, plus Materskaya Brancusi in its northern part.
Now the Paris State Museum of Modern Art is among the ten most visited visual art museums in the world. It has the second largest collection, second only to its “colleague” from New York. Now it includes more than one hundred thousand works of 6400 artists from 90 countries, dating back to the time of Fauvism in 1905. The works of art presented here include painting, graphics, prints, sculptures, photography, motion pictures, media projects, installations, architecture and design.
The collection items of the Museum of Modern Art in Paris Pompidou, which are exhibited to the public, are changed every two years to show visitors the maximum volume and variety of collected exhibits. The permanent exhibition is located on two floors and in five exhibition halls on an area of 18, 500 square meters. The total area of the Museum of Modern Art of the city of Paris is 28 thousand square meters.
The collection is planned to be expanded and occupied by several halls of the Tokyo Palace and some pavilions of the Center Georges Pompidou.
Interestingly, the National Museum of Modern Art is often confused with the Museum of Modern Art at Tokyo Palace.
Since 2013, the director is Bernard Blisten.
The National Museum of Modern Art of Paris conducts a variety of excursions in English and French.
Collection of modernist art
Located on the fifth floor of the museum and is a collection of works of art of the new era from 1905 to 1960. The main styles and directions of art of the first half of the 20th century are presented: Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism and Abstractionism. The works of artists such as Henri Matisse, Andre Derain, Georges Braque, Marcel Duchamp, Maurice de Vlaminck, Raoul Dufy, Albert Marche, Le Doanir Russo, Paul Signac, Pablo Picasso, Jean Metzinger, Frida Kahlo, Oscar Kokoschka, Otto Dix Marcel Ducamp, Gini Severini, Marc Chagall, Natalya Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, Alexander Rodchenko, Paul Kli, Vasily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, Max Beckmann, Amadeo Modelanyi, Hans Arp, Rene Magritte, Max Ernst, Man Ray, Jackson Pollock, Max Rothko, Barnett Newman, Willem de Kooning, Kurt Schwitters, Andre Masson, Emil Nolde, Alberto Giacometti, Yves Tanguy and Francis Bacon.
In the northern part of the Pompidou Center is another exhibit of the National Museum of Modern Art. This is the workshop of the famous sculptor Brancusi, which has remained unchanged since his death. It contains plaster copies of his works, which he himself did and arranged.
Modern art collection
On the fourth floor of the Museum of Modern Art of Paris is a permanent exhibition of works by artists from the 1960s to the present day. Exhibited works in the style of pop art, new realism, experimental sculpture and conceptual art. The works of many artists of the second half of the 20th century are exhibited, for example: Andy Warhol, Richard Hamilton, Milton Ernest Rochenberg, Dan Flavin, Eduardo Arroyo, Dan Graham, Daniel Buren, George Brecht, Armand (Arman) Fernandez, Cesar Baldachchini, Bill Willa, Wima Dilvoe, Yves Klein, Nicky de Saint-Fall, Yaakov Eigam, Victor Vasareli, John Cage, Cindy Sherman, Dieter Roth, Joseph Beius, Roy Lichtenstein, Burhan Dojansey, Jean Phillipe Arthur Dabuffet, Nam Dun East Vaulle Hockney and Louise Bourgeois.
The architectural and design works of Jean Nouvel, Dominic Perrolt and Phillipe Stark are also presented.
Temporary exhibitions
On the sixth floor of the museum there is a space for temporary exhibitions and personal exhibitions. Exposure varies, depending on times and trends, for example, recently, exhibitions on avant-garde art and personal ones are often held.
Exhibits are usually not divided into different disciplines, only thematically. This creates an atmosphere of complete immersion in the cultural layer.
