During the 19th century, Europe went through major economic, political, and social changes, all of whichsparked a century of uprisings for the art world, especially the visual art in France. Along with the rise ofthe bourgeoisie, industrialization, and a modern lifestyle, several epoch-making art movements that challenged the traditional form of art appeared and blossomed. In the early 20th century, Robert Sterling Clark, heir to the Singer Corporation, came to Europe and soon found his life-long passion for art. In decades, he created a collection of paintings including different styles of the 19th century. In this exhibition, entitled “Barbizon through Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute,” these masterpieces are now in Shanghai to take the visitors back to a splendid era in the history of art.

The exhibition begins with the landscape paintings of the Barbizon school and Impressionists. This section features representative works of the Barbizon artists such as Camille Corot, Jean-Francois Millet, and Théodore Rousseau, as well as the plein-air paintings of Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that witness the birth and maturation of Impressionism. In the second section, the works used to glare in the official Salon meet the Impressionist paintings that would be found at the Salon des Refusés, offering an overall perspective on the 19th century French art. In the final section, visitors will meet face-to-face with the 19th century people of different social classes and know about their daily life at home, the entertainment they enjoyed, and the fashion of their time.

The exhibition is a result of three-year collaboration of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and the Shanghai Museum. Among the 73 paintings the majority were originally from the life time collection of Mr. Clark and later under the custody of the Clark Institute, the museum he planned and established in 1955. A related exhibition “Sterling Clark in China, 1908–1909” is held in the No. 3 Exhibition Hall, 4th floor, introducing the life of Mr. Clark and his scientific expedition in north China.

About the exhibition

Date: 2013-09-19 ~ 2013-12-01

Venue: No. 2 Exhibition Hall, Second Floor at Shanghai Museum

Courtesy of Shanghai Museum, for further information please visit www.shanghaimuseum.net.