“Montparnasse, carrefour du monde“ The Invention of Paris as Centre of Art – From the Café Exhibitions in Montparnasse to the International Exhibitions of the “École de Paris”, 1921–1946

Completed research project by Annabel Ruckdeschel

 

A much-told narrative of art history is that the Parisian district Montparnasse was the global centre of modern art in the first third of the 20^th century. This project investigated the history of this narrative. It examined the genesis of the label “École de Paris” (School of Paris) in art exhibitions between 1921 and 1946. Furthermore, this project detached the existing art-historical research on the “École de Paris” from a local perspective which was focused solely on Paris-Montparnasse. It analysed transcultural dynamics in the surroundings of selected exhibitions that have staged Paris as the centre of modern art. This put locations in South or North America as well as Central, Southern or Eastern Europe in focus. Moreover, the symbolic and political power dynamics between these exhibition sites and the exhibitions held in cafés in Montparnasse became evident. Using case studies, this project focused on transnational networks around artists and art critics, for example Josef Čapek, Mario Tozzi, Géo-Charles, Vicente do Rego Monteiro, Manuel Ortiz de Zárate und Sergej Romov.

This project not only drew attention to different and competing productions of Paris as centre of Modernism which were linked to the narrative of the “École de Paris”, but also examined their reinterpretations and appropriations in artistically and politically diverse contexts. As a result, two types of exhibitions could be distinguished: The first exhibition type staged Paris as a centre of art where international artists meet on equal footing, partly under postcolonial conditions (e.g., in Recife, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Prague and Brussels). Quite often these exhibitions were inspired by communist ideas. They oscillated between the emphatic idea of an international art and the ideal of unity in plurality, which enabled artists to express their individuality in relation to the art centre Paris. The second exhibition type revolved around a more nationalistic framework and demonstrated the hegemonic quality of the respective national art (e.g., Venice, Moscow).

For the first time, a catalogue offers a chronological as well as topographical overview of the 44 café exhibitions in Montparnasse as well as the 32 international “École de Paris”-exhibitions.

Work on this project was completed with the submission of a doctoral thesis in July 2020.

 

First publications in the context of this project:

2019: „École de Paris In and Out of Paris (1928–1930). A Transregional Perspective on the Exhibitions of the ‘School of Paris’ in Venice, Cambridge, Recife, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro“, in: Stedelijk Studies 9 (Modernism in Migration. Relocating Artists, Objects and Institutions). 

Reprint in The Journal of Modern Art History Department Belgrade / Zbornik Seminara za studije moderne umetnosti Filozofskog fakulteta Univerziteta u Beogradu, 2021, pp. 25-44.

 

This project was funded by the German Center for Art History in Paris from 2018 until 2019 and by the International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture at Justus-Liebig-University from 2016 until 2018.