Federico Zandomeneghi, Study of a Woman from Behind, 1890-97, Pastel on cardboard, 38 x 48 cm, Milan, Galleria D’Arte Moderna | Photo: © Municipality of Milan – All Rights Reserved
World – For a long time, works on paper were defeated in comparison with painting. In 20th-century France, watercolors, drawings, pastels, tempera and gouaches, however, ceased to be considered a simple preparatory technique, becoming in all respects works of art.
An exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts traces this revenge by analyzing and narrating the way in which these works were conceived. From November 25th to March 10th eighty works on paper created by illustrious masters, from Paul Cézanne to Edgar Degas, from Paul Gauguin to Claude Monet, from Berthe Morisot to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Vincent van Gogh will parade along the path Impressionists on paper: from Degas to Toulouse-Lautrec.
Vincent van Gogh, The fortifications of Paris with houses, 1887, graphite, black pencil, watercolor and gouache on paper, 53.4 x 38.7 cm | Photo: © Michael Pollard | Courtesy The Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Known as the “Impressionists”, the avant-garde artists who rose to prominence between 1860 and 1870, exhibiting for the first time in Paris as a group in 1874, shared the urge to represent scenes of everyday life by addressing contemporary issues, challenging traditional attitudes to design and the search for innovation. Bright colours, quick touches, bold points of view, together with a deliberate lack of finish, were the tools for capturing the fleeting effects of nature, such as scenes from modern life. The eight Impressionist exhibitions held in Paris between 1874 and 1886 also included a large number of works on paper. Their exhibition was also encouraged by gallery owners who, in a forward-looking manner, were able to recognize the economic advantage of exhibiting and selling these works.
The enigmatic Woman at the window by Degas, 1870-71 from Courtauld, London, oil paint diluted with turpentine, and a delicate pastel study by the painter Eva Gonzalès, titled The bride, 1879 (from a private collection) will open the itinerary with a nod to the early years of Impressionism. The 1880s, a phase in which the Impressionists held their last group show in Paris, include instead The fortifications of Paris with houses by van Gogh, 1887 (The Whitworth, The University of Manchester), a work combining graphite, chalk, watercolor and gouache, and Monet’s luminous pastel landscapes such as Cliffs at Etretat: The Needle Rock e Porte d’Aval which will arrive in London from the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh. Works from the 1890s and 1900 will close the itinerary, demonstrating how works on paper were increasingly appreciated and enhanced also by an increase in exhibitions dedicated to them.
Edgar Degas, Dancers on a Bench, c. 1898, Pastel on tracing paper, 75.6 x 53.7 cm. Loaned by Glasgow Life (Glasgow Museums) on behalf of Glasgow City Council. Bequeathed by William McInnes, 1944 | Photo: © CSG CIC Glasgow Museums Collection
It was also a golden age of pastel, as it demonstrates Dancers on a bench made in 1898 by Degas and arriving from Glasgow Life Museums in Glasgow. In the final section, there will be meditative watercolors by Cézanne and Toulouse-Lautrec, representations of the urban underworld of Montmartre and the incandescent poetic reveries of the French painter Odilon Redon, one of the highest representatives of symbolism in painting.
The interest of French avant-garde artists in drawing, which is expressed in numerous productions, had far-reaching consequences. The hierarchical distinction made between painting and drawing, which had relegated the latter to the rank of handmaid, ceased to exist. The London appointment will offer an overview of the innovations made by impressionist and post-impressionist artists through their drawings, sometimes still relatively unknown, but no less radical than oils on canvas.