The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse from the Dallas Museum of Art explores the fascinating story of Impressionism from its birth in 1874 to its legacy in the early 20th century. Told entirely through the DMA’s exceptional holdings, this exhibition reveals the rebellious origins of the independent artist collective known as the Impressionists and the revolutionary course they charted for modern art.
Breaking with tradition in both how and what they painted, as well as how they showed their work, the Impressionists redefined what constituted cutting edge contemporary art. The unique innovations of its core members, such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Berthe Morisot, set the foundation against which following generations of avant-garde artists reacted, from Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh to Piet Mondrian and Henri Matisse.
The Impressionist Revolution invites you to reconsider these now beloved artists as the scandalous renegades they were, as well as the considerable impact they had on 20th-century art.
‣ Rebels with a cause
In 1874 an artist’s collective that called itself the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, Etc. opened the first of what became eight group shows held over the course of 12 years. By organizing their own exhibitions, this collective we now call the Impressionists bypassed the official Salon organized by the state-run Academy of Fine Arts, an act that was as rebellious as it was entrepreneurial.
In contrast to the historical subjects and traditional styles championed by the Academy, the Impressionists shared a passion for capturing everyday modern life in all its realities, from the spectacular to the mundane, in an equally modern style. By painting iron bridges, steam-powered transportation, street life, and intimate scenes of domesticity, the Impressionists elevated routine sights to the status of high art.
Despite their efforts, the Impressionists’ exhibitions scandalized the Parisian public and were generally considered a failure. Apart from a few forward-thinking critics and collectors, there was little appreciation or market for this subversive artwork until well after the last show in 1886.
The Masseuse
Modeled between 1896 and 1911; cast after 1917
Edgar Degas
Born in Paris, France, 1834–died in Paris, France, 1917
Bronze
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., 1965.26.McD
The Pont Neuf
1871
Claude Monet
Born in Paris, France, 1840–died in Giverny, France, 1926
Oil on canvas
Images of city life captured in oil paint in a loose, sketchy style, as seen here, were a novelty in 1870s France. Monet chose the bustling inhabitants of Paris as his subject, emphasizing the blur of people, carriages, and boats coming and going through his use of rapidly applied brushstrokes and unfinished forms. This approach defined the Impressionist movement Monet helped launch just a few years later. It rebelled against the naturalistic style and more timeless, picturesque subjects favored by art critics and collectors at the time. Here, Monet reveled in evoking the look and feel of modern life on a cold, rainy day.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, 1985.R.38
Place du Théâtre Français: Fog Effect
1897
Camille Pissarro
Born in Charlotte Amalie, Danish West Indies (present-day U.S. Virgin Islands), 1830–died in Paris, France, 1903
Oil on canvas
Pissarro painted the Place du Théâtre Français from his room at the Grand Hôtel du Louvre. In a series of 15 works of the same subject, he portrayed the effect of different light and weather on the scene. Here, the wide Parisian plaza is shrouded in wintry fog painted in hazy pink and purple hues. Pissarro used the perspective of the hotel’s second floor to his advantage, adopting a bird’s-eye view to capture the dynamism of the modern city. Sketchy brushstrokes convey the movement of horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians on the street below.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, 1985.R.50
The Fish Market, Dieppe: Grey Weather, Morning
1902
Camille Pissarro
Born in Charlotte Amalie, Danish West Indies (present-day U.S. Virgin Islands), 1830–died in Paris, France, 1903
Oil on canvas
Starting in the 1890s, Pissarro turned increasingly toward the depiction of cityscapes and commercial harbors, such as Dieppe. Working from the third-floor room he rented there in 1902, he captured the bustling port city in a series of 21 canvases, an idea undoubtedly inspired by his friend Claude Monet. This painting purportedly features Dieppe’s fish market, but rather than represent the vendors’ stalls, Pissarro delighted in recording the mass of people inspecting the day’s catch or watching the maritime traffic. Although the artist observed the scene from life, he made it more picturesque by eliminating the utility poles and wires that proclaimed Dieppe’s status as a modern city.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., bequest of Mrs. Eugene McDermott, 2019.67.20.McD
The Seine River in Paris
1883
Paul Signac
Born in Paris, France, 1863–died in Paris, France, 1935
Oil on canvas
Signac taught himself to paint at the age of 18, after seeing an exhibition of Claude Monet’s work in 1880. Influenced by Impressionism, Signac painted the modern city in a modern way, often from the vantage point of his small studio boat as seen in this plein-air (outdoor) sketch. The composition is dominated by a sharply receding, open span of water that is as inventive as it is daring. Only a year after this painting was made, Signac met Georges Seurat, the young artist developing Pointillism, a painting technique in which the artist places individual points of color side-by-side that, when seen from a distance, blend in the viewer’s eyes. He soon abandoned the Impressionist style in favor of Pointillism, which he practiced until his death.
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Cornelia and Ralph Heins in memory of Elinor Heins, 2023.79.3
Roses and Peonies in a Vase
1876
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Born in Limoges, France, 1841–died in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, 1919
Oil on canvas
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., bequest of Mrs. Eugene McDermott in honor of Sarah Perot, 2019.67.22.McD
Flowers and Bird
About 1884–1886
Paul Gauguin
Born in Paris, France, 1848–died in Atuona, Hiva Oa, French Polynesia, 1903
Drum with oil on vellum
This is one of only two paintings Gauguin made on the face of a small drum. Although the subject is simple— pink peonies on a wood table against blue patterned wallpaper—the artist plays with illusions of form and space. The sculptural treatment of the colorful duck in the background gives the impression that it has detached from the wall and is landing on one of the blossoms below. This witty juxtaposition, undoubtedly borrowed from Cézanne, prompts us to question which elements belong to the still life and which belong to the room in which it is posed.
Dallas Museum of Art, Irene H. and Earnest G. Wadel Acquisition Fund, 2019.26
Yellow Roses in a Vase
1882
Gustave Caillebotte
Born in Paris, France, 1848–died in Gennevilliers, France, 1894
Oil on canvas
Caillebotte joined the Impressionists in 1876 and participated in five of their eight shows. He also helped organize and even finance several of the exhibitions. Caillebotte’s early paintings celebrated modern city life, but he quickly expanded his range of subjects. Yellow Roses in a Vase was painted during his first serious engagement with the genre of still life. Between 1881 and 1883, he painted more than 30 still lifes, reflecting a renewed interest in the genre among several artists of the Impressionist circle, most notably Claude Monet, who shared Caillebotte’s Paris studio in 1882. This painting was purchased in 1894 by Edgar Degas, who collected the works of his fellow artists, as did Caillebotte himself.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in honor of Janet Kendall Forsythe, 2010.13.McD
Still Life, Tea Service
1872
Claude Monet
Born in Paris, France, 1840–died in Giverny, France, 1926
Oil on canvas
Though known for his landscapes, Monet was also a remarkable still-life painter, especially during his early career. Completed two years before the first Impressionist exhibition, for which he was a key organizer, this image of a porcelain tea service and sage plant demonstrates his remarkable ability to render textures. The velvety sage leaves contrast with the matte tablecloth, the slick red lacquered tray, and the shine of the blue-and-white china. The reflections on the spoon, linen, and ceramics reveal Monet’s lifelong fascination with the way light interacts with various surfaces.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., bequest of Mrs. Eugene McDermott, 2019.67.12.McD
Still Life with Carafe, Milk Can, Bowl, and Orange
1879–1880
Paul Cézanne
Born in Aix-en-Provence, France, 1839–died in Aix-en-Provence, France, 1906
Oil on canvas
Cézanne created this still life as he began moving beyond the Impressionists’ desire to paint the transitory effects of light. Seeking to capture the essential form and mass of his subjects, he developed an innovative approach to depicting space. The small parallel brushstrokes of gradually shifting colors that he applied to construct each object, whether flat wallpaper or a three-dimensional tabletop, challenge our logical understanding of depth and volume. Background is merged with foreground, and details like the floral design on the wallpaper take on the same dimensionality as the orange on the table.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, 1985.R.10
Brioche with Pears
1876
Edouard Manet
Born in Paris, France, 1832–died in Paris, France, 1883
Oil on canvas
The realist painter Manet was both a role model and mentor to the younger Impressionists. His loose, brushy application of paint and elimination of half tones strongly influenced the aesthetic of Monet, Sisley, and Renoir, in particular. Despite the close relationships he had with many members of the group, Manet declined to exhibit with the Impressionists, preferring instead to seek the traditional route for success at the Salon. Nevertheless, he remained open to their artistic innovations and adopted their bright, pastel palette and interest in rendering light effects, as seen in this airy still life.
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Wendy and Emery Reves Foundation, 2024.R.2
Mother and Child
Modeled 1915, cast 1928
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Born in Limoges, France, 1841–died in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, 1919
Richard Guino
Born in Girona, Spain, 1890–died in Antony, France, 1973 Bronze
Renoir initially conceived this sculpture as a monument to mark the grave of his wife, Aline, when she died in 1915. Due to Renoir’s advanced age and arthritic hands, his assistant, Richard Guino, modeled the sculpture in clay under his close supervision. This portrayal of Aline breastfeeding their firstborn son derives from a painting Renoir made 30 years earlier. For him, the image of Aline nursing their son was a modern representation of the Madonna and child and a symbol for the eternal nature of motherhood.
Motherhood, 1885. Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Oil on canvas. Musée d’Orsay, Paris. © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / RMN.
Dallas Museum of Art, Gift of Cornelia and Ralph Heins in memory of Elinor Heins, 2021.32.18
‣ Field notes
The Impressionists’ radical approach extended beyond their subjects to their techniques and materials. Fueled by technological advances, such as the invention of the resealable metal paint tube and the expansion of railways, nearly all the Impressionists took their canvases outdoors to record the sensation of light and movement, whether in and around France’s capital or further afield to its coasts and southern regions.
To capture such fleeting effects, they rapidly applied bright pigments on light-hued grounds (preparatory layers) in broken, textured brushstrokes. They experimented with cutting-edge color theories, such as painting contrasting complementary colors side by side to boost each color’s vibrancy, and they avoided black and gray in their depiction of shadows and volume. They also chose not to apply shiny varnish, which was traditionally the final step that signified a finished oil painting.
The Impressionists’ vivid colors and dissolving forms stunned contemporary viewers, who were accustomed to the slick realism and earth-toned palettes of Academic paintings shown at the Paris Salon. Most critics and collectors saw Impressionist paintings as clumsy and sketch-like at best, and garishly ugly at worst.
Street in Ville-d’Avray
1873
Alfred Sisley
Born in Paris, France, 1839–died in Moret-sur-Loing, France, 1899
Oil on canvas
Though less well known today than his close friends Monet and Renoir, Sisley was an originating member of the Impressionist group and participated in five of their eight exhibitions. In the early 1870s, he painted the picturesque fields, riverbanks, and villages near his home in the small hamlet of Voisins, France. A dedicated plein-air (outdoor) painter, he preferred a subtle approach to color and lighting. Here, he reprised one of his favorite motifs: a quiet street winding through a quaint French village. Although the subject is mundane, the unusual vantage point and expansive foreground suggest deep spatial recession and create a sense of drama.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., bequest of Mrs. Eugene McDermott, 2019.67.26.McD
The Village of Marly-le-Roi seen from Louveciennes
1876
Alfred Sisley
Born in Paris, France, 1839–died in Moret-sur-Loing, France, 1899
Oil on canvas
In early 1875, Sisley moved to Marly-le-Roi, a small village outside Paris. The area contained the remnants of gardens built in the 1600s by King Louis XIV for a royal château (castle). For this painting, Sisley likely set up his portable painting equipment on the hill behind one of the château’s remaining pavilions, which is shown on the right side of the composition. The steeple of the church in Marly-le-Roi rises over the tree line in the distance. The work’s sketch-like appearance suggests that Sisley may have finished it in one session.
Dallas Museum of Art, Gift of Cornelia and Ralph Heins in memory of Elinor Heins, 2023.79.4
Peasant Woman Carrying Two Bundles of Hay
1883
Camille Pissarro
Born in Charlotte Amalie, Danish West Indies (present-day U.S. Virgin Islands), 1830–died in Paris, France, 1903
Oil on canvas
Pissarro believed in the benefits of communal living, and he represented laboring peasants throughout his career. In 1873 he began focusing on the traditional aspects of agrarian life, such as manual labor, that were under threat of disappearing due to rapid industrialization. In this painting, Pissarro gives the figure a solid, monumental presence within the landscape, instilling his humble subject with a sense of importance and quiet dignity.
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, 1981.132
Valle Buona, Near Bordighera
1884
Claude Monet
Born in Paris, France, 1840–died in Giverny, France, 1926
Oil on canvas
This landscape features the rugged countryside along the Riviera at the French-Italian border. Monet produced it during his first painting trip to the Mediterranean in the spring of 1884. To convey the fabled bright sunlight of the south, Monet applied small strokes of silvery blues and greens that evoke the look and feel of dry brush and foliage shimmering in the arid terrain.
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, 1981.127
The Port of Nice
1881–1882
Berthe Morisot
Born in Bourges, France, 1841–died in Paris, France, 1895
Oil on canvas
Morisot produced this scene of docked sailboats while vacationing with her family in Nice in southern France. She painted it from the boat she rented to escape the jeers of onlookers who had never seen a female artist at work. More than two-thirds of the composition is boldly given over to the depiction of water and its play of movement, reflection, and broken colors. Incredibly fluid and gestural, her brushwork veers toward abstraction, which is typical of Morisot’s daring formal experimentation. Sections of canvas are left unpainted and details are sacrificed for the overall impression.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, 1985.R.40
The Bay at the Mouth of the River Elorn, Landerneau
1871
Eugène–Louis Boudin
Born in Honfleur, France, 1824–died in Deauville, France, 1898
Oil on canvas
The Impressionists admired Boudin’s ability to capture the fleeting effects of light in his depictions of sea and sky and invited the older artist to participate in their inaugural group show. Boudin was represented by six works in that landmark exhibition, but likely due to its critical and commercial failure, he never showed with the artist collective again. Already an established painter, Boudin would return to seeking success through the official channel of the Salon.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., bequest of Mrs. Eugene McDermott, 2019.67.2.McD
Open Sea
1889
Eugène-Louis Boudin
Born in Honfleur, France, 1824–died in Deauville, France, 1898
Oil on canvas
Boudin was known among his contemporaries for his masterful handling of skies and atmosphere. He represented the fleeting effects of weather by working en plein air (outdoors) rather than in a studio. When he met the teenaged Claude Monet in 1858, Boudin became his unofficial teacher and encouraged him to paint directly from nature. Monet accompanied Boudin on several painting excursions to the coast and around the countryside. These early lessons with Boudin profoundly affected Monet and the future Impressionists, who sought to capture their immediate perception of light and atmosphere.
Dallas Museum of Art, Gift of Cornelia and Ralph Heins in memory of Elinor Heins, 2021.32.5
Comblat-le-Château, the Meadow (Le Pré), Opus 161
1887
Paul Signac
Born in Paris, France, 1863–died in Paris, France, 1935
Oil on canvas
Signac painted this landscape during the first crucial years of the Neo-Impressionist movement. He was working at that time directly under the influence of Georges Seurat and had enthusiastically adopted his painstaking Pointillist technique. By juxtaposing small dots of unmixed colors, Signac created an atmospheric and stylized depiction of what he described as a “fairy-tale valley” in the Auvergne region of south-central France.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in honor of Bonnie Pitman, 2010.14.McD
Poplars, Pink Effect
1891
Claude Monet
Born in Paris, France, 1840–died in Giverny, France, 1926
Oil on canvas
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., bequest of Mrs. Eugene McDermott, 2019.67.14.McD
Water Lilies
1908
Claude Monet
Born in Paris, France, 1840–died in Giverny, France, 1926
Oil on canvas
Monet’s early water lily paintings featured more conventional depictions of space, with details like a horizon line or grassy bank that oriented the viewer. As time went on, he abandoned solid ground in favor of immersive watery scenes. At first, the horizon line of the water landscapes crept to the very top of the canvas (see painting nearby). Eventually, there was no horizon line at all, as seen here. In later works like this one, Monet’s technique approached abstraction as water lilies gave way to gestural strokes of shimmering color.
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, 1981.128
The Water Lily Pond (Clouds)
1903
Claude Monet
Born in Paris, France, 1840–died in Giverny, France, 1926
Oil on canvas
Monet is inextricably linked to Giverny, a town outside Paris where he moved in 1883. While his initial effort was the cultivation of a flower garden, he began creating a Japanese-style pond in the 1890s. The colorful and exotic water lilies Monet planted there became his primary subject in the last two decades of his life. While earlier works often featured an arching footbridge, over time the subject became the surface of the water, at once a mirror of the world above and a window into the world below. The extraordinary illusionism of the reflected clouds in this painting caused those attending an auction in 1917 to think that the canvas was hanging upside down.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., bequest of Mrs. Eugene McDermott in honor of Nancy Hamon, 2019.67.13.McD
‣ Side effects
Georges Seurat’s debut of Pointillism in 1886 created a backlash within the avant-garde art scene. Many artists with roots in Impressionism, including Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin, led a younger generation of artists in developing new styles that prioritized emotions, ideas, and personal expression over purely optical impressions. Anti-naturalistic colors, exaggerated forms, and symbolic subjects characterize the work of the artists we now call the Post-Impressionists.
Though aspects of his theories and lifestyle are problematic, Gauguin was instrumental in this shift. He sought to restore a sense of authenticity to art making by stripping away Western pictorial conventions like linear perspective and modeling. He left Paris in search of “uncivilized” subjects, first in France’s remote regions and later in its colonies, that would embody the “primitive” quality he sought in his art. Van Gogh, Emile Bernard, and Paul Sérusier are among those who followed this example.
The Synthetic style Gauguin developed with Bernard, which emphasized the role of memory, imagination, and abstraction, would have a profound impact on Van Gogh and the young group of artists who called themselves the Nabis (prophets) in the late 1880s. The latter embraced the subversive concept that a painting was nothing more than a decorative arrangement of colors on a flat surface.
Portrait of a Young Girl (Thérèse Watillaux)
1896
Maurice Denis
Born in Granville, France, 1870–died in Paris, France, 1943
Oil on cardboard
Dallas Museum of Art, Beatrice and Patrick Haggerty Acquisition Fund, gift of Lawrence Milton Davis by exchange, gift of Caren Prothro by exchange, and the Patsy Lacy Griffith Collection, gift of Patsy Lacy Griffith by exchange, 2014.27
The Laundress, Blue Room
1900
Félix Vallotton
Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, 1865–died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, 1925
Tempera on cardboard mounted on canvas
Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund in honor of Mrs. Alfred L. Bromberg, 1996.48.FA
Woman with a Lamp
1909
Pierre Bonnard
Born in Fontenay-aux-Roses, France, 1867–died in Le Cannet, France, 1947
Oil on paper, mounted on canvas
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Ann Jacobus Folz, 2017.44.2
In 1888 the young painter Paul Sérusier traveled to the Breton village of Pont-Aven to join the community of artists that had gathered around Paul Gauguin. While there, Gauguin instructed him in the creation of a small, abstracted landscape where color and form were freed from their roles as descriptors. Once Sérusier returned to Paris, this vibrant sketch, The Talisman (see image below), prompted the formation of a brotherhood of artists dedicated to spiritual and personal expression through color and line. They called themselves the Nabis, the Hebrew word for “prophets.”
This installation features paintings by Nabis members, including Sérusier, Maurice Denis, Pierre Bonnard, and Félix Vallotton. Their individual styles and motifs vary from intimate scenes of domesticity to mystical dreamscapes. Nevertheless, the Nabis jointly rejected illusionistic representation in favor of emphasizing a painting’s decorative qualities. As Denis famously quipped, before it is a horse or a nude, a picture “is essentially a flat surface covered with colors assembled in a certain order.”
Le Talisman, Paysage au Bois d’Amour, 1888. Paul Sérusier. Oil on wood. Musée d’Orsay, RF 1985 13. Source: Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Celtic Tale
1894
Paul Sérusier
Born in Paris, France, 1864–died in Morlaix, France, 1927
Oil on canvas
Sérusier studied Breton culture and its Celtic past during his formative stay in Brittany in 1888. The interrelationship of pagan and Christian rituals became the focus of many of his paintings. Here, two cloaked men (thought to be the artist and a companion) enter a dreamlike landscape. Filled with mysterious characters, the painting combines Breton customs, such as their regional dress, with its Celtic lore.
Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Mayer, 1983.52.FA
Sheaves of Wheat
1890
Vincent van Gogh
Born in Zundert, Netherlands, 1853–died in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, 1890
Oil on canvas
Throughout his career, Van Gogh considered himself an Impressionist as he faithfully recorded his sensations before nature. At the same time, he experimented with newer avant-garde styles, such as the Synthetic approach developed by his friends Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard that exaggerated form and color to convey meaning. Working in isolation in southern France, Van Gogh developed a unique voice. Sheaves of Wheat was painted during the final month of his life. It captures harvested wheat, one of Van Gogh’s favorite motifs. Applying gold and violet hues in thick, expressive brushstrokes, he tried to express the comforting feeling of eternity that he experienced as he observed nature’s endless cycles.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Wendy and Emery Reves Collection, 1985.R.80
The Salon
1890
Emile Bernard
Born in Lille, France, 1868–died in Paris, France, 1941
Oil on canvas
France’s rapid urbanization in the 19th century brought greater visibility to the profession of prostitution. It became a common subject for writers and artists, particularly within the avant-garde. The Salon is the culmination of a five-year period that Bernard dedicated to exploring this daringly modern subject. It depicts the sitting room of a brothel where women in various states of undress await clients. Through the garish palette of contrasting reds and greens and his semiabstract style, Bernard expressed the dreary reality of prostitutes who pass time by playing cards, napping, or drinking.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., 2018.4.McD
Initiation to Study – Two Young Ladies
About 1905
Odilon Redon
Born in Bordeaux, France, 1840–died in Paris, France, 1916
Oil on canvas
In this painting of an imaginary subject, a woman wearing a blue mantle takes the hand of a younger woman as if to impart secret knowledge. The muted tones and flat, patchy style give the canvas the appearance of an ancient fresco (plaster mural).
Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, anonymous gift, 1963.80.FA
I Raro te Oviri (Under the Pandanus)
1891
Paul Gauguin
Born in Paris, France, 1848–died in Atuona, Hiva Oa, French Polynesia, 1903
Oil on canvas
Gauguin sought to escape the constraints of industrialized society and dreamed of an unspoiled utopia. He pursued this colonial fantasy in the French colony of Tahiti, where he lived from 1891 to 1893 and again from 1895 to 1901. Though the island’s native culture had effectively been eradicated by centuries of Western colonization and Christian missionaries, Gauguin chose to paint Tahiti as the premodern paradise of his imagination. Here, two Tahitian women wearing traditional skirts stand beneath pandanus (palm-like trees), their fallen fronds suggesting a kind of mystic writing in the red earth. The fruit carried by one of the women seems to reference the natural abundance that Gauguin expected to find in this imagined Eden.
Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of the Adele R. Levy Fund, Inc., 1963.58.FA
Woman at Her Toilette
1889
Louis Anquetin
Born in Étrépagny, France, 1861–died in Paris, France, 1932
Oil on canvas
This painting boasts a bold new style called Cloisonnism that Anquetin invented with his friend Emile Bernard, whose works hang nearby. Imitating medieval stained-glass windows, cloisonné enamel, and Japanese woodcut prints, Cloisonnism features flat areas of solid color enclosed by sinuous outlines, such as the green contour that encircles the woman’s smooth white skin. The painting’s modern approach also extends to its subject. Though images of women dressing are traditional within European art, the figure’s direct gaze, pronounced makeup, and parted lips suggest she’s a courtesan, a sex worker who catered to upper-class patrons.
Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund, 2020.3.FA
Bridge at Pont-Aven
1891
Emile Bernard
Born in Lille, France, 1868–died in Paris, France, 1941
Oil on cardboard
Along with Paul Gauguin and Paul Sérusier, Bernard was lured to Brittany, an isolated region in western France, in the late 1880s. There, they believed they would find an authentic culture unspoiled by modern life. Bernard painted this coarse and greatly stylized scene in the village of Pont-Aven. The women wear traditional Breton headdresses, whose forms echo the flapping wings of the geese.
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Estate of Ina MacNaughton, 1992.27
‣ Ever after
The radical aesthetics and groundbreaking subjects launched by the Impressionists, and the Post-Impressionists who followed, set the trajectory for the development of contemporary art in the 20th century. Large retrospectives of the work of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin held in Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Dresden, and Berlin in the first decade of the 1900s contributed to the dissemination of their collective styles and theories across Europe. Younger generations of avant-garde artists actively engaged with the previous artistic movements’ core tenets, directly or indirectly, whether adopting or rejecting them.
Almost every stylistic breakthrough from this period—Cubism, Fauvism, Expressionism, Futurism, Abstraction—had its roots in the Impressionists’ subversion of traditional Academic values, from the subject depicted to the finish of the brightly colored surface. This gallery offers a glimpse into some of these innovative movements and their continuation, often to brilliant ends, of Impressionism’s legacy.
Still Life: Bouquet and Compotier
1924
Henri Matisse
Born in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France, 1869– died in Nice, France, 1954
Oil on canvas
Beginning in the early 1900s, Matisse began making floral still lifes, an interest he maintained for the rest of his life. Like Paul Cézanne, whom he deeply admired, Matisse used the genre of still life as the constant for his formal experimentation with decoration and abstraction. Here, the painted standing screen, tablecloth, and compotier (fruit bowl) are all studio props that reappear in other paintings. Cézanne’s still lifes also provided the model for Matisse’s ambitious play with spatial ambiguity. In this work, he challenges our perception of the relationship between flat, painted patterns and three-dimensional objects, such as the standing screen in the background and the section of wall visible at right.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in honor of Dr. Bryan Williams, 2002.19.McD
Young Woman at Her Toilette
1916
Pierre Bonnard
Born in Fontenay-aux-Roses, France, 1867–died in Le Cannet, France, 1947
Oil on canvas
Young Woman at Her Toilette presents the fragmented reflections of two women in a large horizontal mirror placed above a mantelpiece lined with common household objects. Behind the nude on the left is a second mirror reflecting the standing figure’s buttocks and thighs. A large painting of a reclining nude by fellow Nabis artist Maurice Denis hangs in the background. By eliminating the reflection of the artist or viewer, Bonnard created a multilayered visual play between reality and reflection, depth and surface.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., bequest of Mrs. Eugene McDermott in honor of Marguerite and Robert Hoffman, 2019.67.1.McD
Nude, Yellow Background
About 1924
Pierre Bonnard
Born in Fontenay-aux-Roses, France, 1867–died in Le Cannet, France, 1947
Oil on canvas
In the early 1900s, Bonnard shifted from his earlier Nabis style, characterized by the decorative treatment of everyday scenes, to focusing on the depiction of light and reflection in increasingly abstracted compositions. Here we see the influence of Edgar Degas, whose work frequently presented modern women in awkward positions as they performed their toilette. Bonnard’s treatment of the subject was entirely his own, however. Using transparent washes of bright color, he sought to convey both the sensation of sunlight illuminating the room and the scene’s mood.
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, 1981.101
Farm Near Duivendrecht, in the Evening
About 1916 (reprise of a compositional series from 1905–1908)
Piet Mondrian
Born in Amersfoort, Netherlands, 1872–died in New York, New York, 1944
Oil on canvas
Piet Mondrian is best known today for his geometrically abstract grid paintings. His early works, however, show the influence of both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Mondrian returned to the farm depicted here repeatedly, capturing the quality of light and reflections on the river at different times of day, like Claude Monet. Nevertheless, the stylization of the house and trees as well as the flat patches of expressive colors reveal the impact of Post-Impressionism, especially the works of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cézanne. Mondrian encountered both artists’ works in retrospectives that were held in Amsterdam in 1905 and 1909, respectively.
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation, 1987.359
Windmill
About 1917
Piet Mondrian
Born in Amersfoort, Netherlands, 1872–died in New York, New York, 1944
Oil on canvas
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. Eugene McDermott to the Dallas Museum of Art in honor of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Clark, 1989.142
Spring Sun (Lentezon): Castle Ruin: Brederode
Late 1909–early 1910
Piet Mondrian
Born in Amersfoort, Netherlands, 1872–died in New York, New York, 1944
Oil on Masonite
Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of the James H. and Lillian Clark Foundation, 1982.24.FA
View from Hisøya Near Arendal
1886
Edvard Munch
Born in Ådalsbruk, Norway, 1863–died in Oslo, Norway, 1944
Oil on canvas
As a young art student in the early 1880s, Munch was heavily influenced by the avant-garde aesthetic of the French Impressionists. He experimented with their light hues, staccato brushstrokes, and focus on mundane scenes rendered in a naturalistic style, as demonstrated in this quiet and evocative early work.
Dallas Museum of Art, Gift of Cornelia and Ralph Heins in memory of Elinor Heins, 2021.32.12
Fishing Boats at L’Estaque
1906
André Derain
Born in Chatou, France, 1880–died in Garches, France, 1954
Oil on canvas
In 1901 a large exhibition of Vincent van Gogh’s work was held at the Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in Paris. Among the visitors to the show were the painters André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck, and Henri Matisse, each of whom was deeply influenced by Van Gogh’s bold application of bright colors in thick, broken strokes. Shortly after seeing another Van Gogh exhibition in 1905, the three artists developed Fauvism. As powerfully demonstrated in this small sketch, the Fauves (wild beasts) conceived of light and shadow as contrasting colors rather than contrasting tones. They also rejected Pointillism’s insistence on small, consistent touches in favor of flat, clearly defined patches of vivid hues.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., bequest of Mrs. Eugene McDermott, 2019.67.9.McD
Still Life with Lilies
1917
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Born in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria (present-day Germany), 1880–died in Davos, Switzerland, 1938
Oil on canvas
Within the German Expressionist movement, artists prioritized personal expression over realistic depictions of nature. The Expressionists, inspired by earlier artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, used bold colors, animated brushstrokes, and simplified forms to convey their thoughts and feelings. Here, Kirchner juxtaposed flowers with what is probably a non-Western sculpture from his personal collection. Like many of his peers, Kirchner looked to the arts of Africa, Oceania, and India for inspiration, just as Gauguin had before him, in his search for greater artistic authenticity.
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Cornelia and Ralph Heins in memory of Elinor Heins, 2019.82.3
Abstract Head: Two Elements
1925
Alexei Jawlensky
Born in Torzhok, Russia, 1864–died in Wiesbaden, Germany, 1941
Oil on cardboard
This work is part of a series of 251 abstract heads that illustrate Jawlensky’s development of a unique style that combined his modern aesthetic and his personal faith. A deeply devout man, Jawlenksy took inspiration from the head-on compositions and proportions of Russian Orthodox icons (sacred images representing Christian religious figures). Even after moving beyond the central tenets of the Expressionist style he helped create, Jawlensky continued to rely on the dark contours and vibrant colors that he admired in the work of Paul Gauguin to convey spiritual value in his paintings.
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Cornelia and Ralph Heins in memory of Elinor Heins, 2019.82.2
Thuringian Forest
1904 or 1905
Edvard Munch
Born in Ådalsbruk, Norway, 1863–died in Oslo, Norway, 1944
Oil on canvas
Though Munch initially experimented with Impressionism, he felt its emphasis on naturalism did not allow the emotional expression he sought. It was the impactful use of color by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec that catalyzed the development of his unique Expressionist style. Here, he depicts a recently deforested area in the Thuringian Forest in Germany. With boldly contrasting complementary colors—red and green—he portrays the undulating landscape as bleeding and raw to convey feelings of anguish and despair. Munch’s highly individual and personally symbolic work played an important role in the development of German Expressionism.
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., bequest of Mrs. Eugene McDermott, 2019.67.15.McD
The Winkel Mill, Pointillist Version
1908
Piet Mondrian
Born in Amersfoort, Netherlands, 1872–died in New York, New York, 1944
Oil on canvas
In this painting , we see Mondrian’s experimentation with Post-Impressionist and Pointillist techniques. Here, anti-naturalistic colors are applied in dashes and dots, and bright sunlit areas are starkly contrasted with those cast in shadow. Mondrian included another version of the Winkel Mill in his 1909 retrospective in Amsterdam. Even more vibrantly hued, it caused a critical controversy due perhaps to its other visible influence: the Fauvist style developed by Henri Matisse and André Derain, which was characterized by a bold palette and wild brushwork and scandalized Paris when it debuted in 1905.
Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of the James H. and Lillian Clark Foundation, 1982.25.FA
