Ever since we moved to Paris in 2005 from New York City, fall has always been our favorite season. Most Parisians take their vacation in August and the city empties out, but when they return, they are raring to go. The French actually have an expression for their return: La Rentree, which means "reentry." Making a fresh start, it’s back to school, back to work and back to sitting in cafes. Gone are the summer clothes, and Parisians don their new fall fashions—especially in the Marais where we live.
This fall season, September and October are packed with major events such as the Rugby World Cup, Fashion Week, International Contemporary Art Fair and Montmartre Wine harvest. Best of all, the museums are rolling out some top-notch exhibitions that can’t be missed. Below are four of the most anticipated exhibitions.
Van Gogh Auvers-sur-Oise
When Van Gogh cut his ear off, he spent a year in an asylum in Saint Remy in Provence. After he recovered, he moved to a small village near Paris, to be near his brother Theo, who lived in Montmartre. In a little over two months, he created 74 paintings and 33 drawings before he took his own life in 1890 at the age of 37. For the first time in history, 40 paintings and 20 drawings from Van Gogh’s last works will be on exhibition. They include landscapes, village scenes, still life’s, and portraits and iconic paintings such as Portrait of Dr. Gachet, The Church at Auvers and Wheatfield with Crows.
Available from October 3, 2023, to February 4, 2024, at Musee D’Orsay. Visit www.musee-orsay.fr/van-gogh-auvers-sur-oise.
Amedeo Modigliani – A Painter and His Dealer
Amedeo Modigliani, the painter, arrived in Paris in 1906, from Livorno, Italy but switched to sculpting until 1914, when he returned to painting. Through the poet Max Jacob, an art dealer and collector Paul Guillaume discovered the work of Modigliani. Guillaume became Modigliani’s dealer and they formed a close bond and friendship from 1914 to 1920. This new exhibition explores the relationship between them and it shows mostly portraits Modigliani painted in that period of well-known artists and writers including Max Jacob, Jean Cocteau, André Rouveyre and Moïse Kisling.
On exhibition through January 15, 2024, at L’Orangerie. Visit www.musee-orangerie.fr/amedeo-modigliani-painter-and-his-dealer.
Mark Rothko
One of the greatest American painters from the post-war period, Mark Rothko, is having a long, overdue retrospective in Paris. The Fondation Louis Vuitton presents 115 pieces loaned by some of the top international art institutions such as the National Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., the Tate in London and from private art collections. The exhibition covers Rothko’s entire career and is displayed in chronological order starting with figurative paintings followed by his iconic abstract pieces. A bonus to the show is the display of a series of paintings commissioned in 1958 for Four Seasons Restaurant in New York, which Rothko decided not to give to the restaurant and keep for himself.
Open from October 18, 2023 to April 2, 2024 at Fondation Louis Vuitton. Visit www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr/mark-rothko.
Azzedine Alaia, Couturier Collector
Not only was Azzedine Alaia a smashing and successful fashion designer for over four decades—from the 1980s to 2017—but he was also a fashion collector, amassing over 20,000 haute couture garments. He first started in 1968, when he purchased a selection of gowns and dresses from Cristóbal Balenciaga when he shuttered his fashion atelier. Over 140 pieces are on display, representing designers including Charles Worth, Elsa Schiaparelli, Jeanne Lanvin, Balenciaga, Madame Grès, Jean Patou, Paul Poiret, Gabrielle Chanel, Madeleine Vionnet and Christian Dior from the late 19th century and early 20th century, followed by contemporary designers Jean Paul Gaultier, Comme des Garçons, Alexander McQueen, Thierry Mugler and Yohji Yamamoto.
Available until January 21, 2024, at Palais Galliera. Visit www.palaisgalliera.paris.fr/azzedine-alaia-couturier-and-collector.
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