The Milwaukee Post

October 27, 2017 • Milwaukee County Post • 17 ENTERTAINMENT Paris at the MAM: Epicenter of one of art's great movements to be highlighted By DAN MUCKELBAUER Post editor MILWAUKEE — The exactly 150 works by some of the most famous artists who ever held a pencil or brush give a look into what they saw as modern life, chiefly in one of the most invigorat- ing cities ever. On exhibit beginning Nov. 4, associate curator of prints and drawings Britany Salsbury tells the story of modernism through the exhibit in possi- bly one of the most fitting places outside the bound- aries of the City of Lights — the Milwaukee Art Museum. "I think it is a good land- ing place because we have a good collection of modern paintings a little later than most of the work in the exhibit thanks to the Bradley Collection," Salsbury said in an inter- view Tuesday. "This contex- tualizes a strength in our collection." "Degas to Picasso: Creating Modernism in France" begins with classi- cal art when the lines begin to blur from around 1800 through another six major schools of art to after World War II. "Degas to Picasso will give museum visitors the opportunity to experience modernism in the way that artists themselves did: not as a single style or an organ- ized movement, but as a process of exploration that began in Paris and connect- ed generations, from Delacroix to Degas and Cézanne to Picasso," Salsbury said. Dividing the large space at MAM into 10 or so galleries helped overcome one of the challenges of organizing the exhibit, which she said includes many drawings best seen in an intimate set- ting. "There is a very clear timeline," she said in an interview in advance of a media preview. "This exhi- bition has a single clear path through the galleries, which takes you through the evolution of modern art. The whole thing is chrono- logical." The exhibit's title isn't chronological. The period is underway when Edgar Degas begins to establish himself as an artist. "The title is meant to sug- gest the greatest works in the exhibit. There are 11 works by Picasso and 16 by Degas," said Salsbury, who in addition to curating the show for the MAM is organ- izing the major Jules Chéret print donation. Hired nine months ago, her experience includes the the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In modernism, a sharp contrast to earlier periods when the subjects of paint- ings and other art were often historical, mythologi- cal and biblical, the artists drew and painted the world around them, Salsbury said. She puts the imaginative and emotional romanticism movement, vibrant in the first two decades of the 19th century, in the modern peri- od. Blowing their minds But it was Edouard Manet, considered by many as "the father of modern art," who really got things rolling in the 1850s and 1860s, and saw modern life as worth painting. "He walks around the city of Paris and paints people in cafés and going to music performances and in bars," Salsbury said. "To us it seems so old, but it really blew the minds of the peo- ple living then." Manet is represented by nine of his works. Many of the items in the exhibit are drawings, with some paint- ings, the medium that mod- ern is perhaps best known for, as well as prints and sculptures. Claude Monet, famous for his impressionism paint- ings of water lilies and bridges, is represented by a single charcoal drawing when he was young. "When you see a painting you see the finished prod- uct, but when you see a drawing you see how they got there," said Salsbury, an obvious fan of drawing, "and you see things that were left out." In the exhibit, there are study drawings as well as drawings as an end to them- selves. A few of the curator's favorite things One of Salsbury's favorite aspects of the show running through Jan. 28 is Degas's woman in a bath done over a span of time. "The topic really fascinated him," she said, even as he experiment- ed with different media. A more mechanized socie- ty and war come into play during the first half of the 20th century. For Salsbury, standing out in the cubism that takes hold is Fernand Léger's "Mother and Child" after World War II, which is more relatable than many other forms of the school, with the mother holding the child who has an olive branch. It's a contrast to Pablo Picasso's cubism and the m a t h e m a t i c a l l y - b a s e d "Golden Section" of early 20th-century Paris, which also strikes Salsbury as interesting in the exhibit. Throughout the years, Paris remained a strong draw to artists. The French Academy in Paris was what drew so many artists from across Europe in the first place, Salsbury said, as well as the salon exhibits, which was a high honor to be chosen for, despite many notable impressionism artists not being selected. "It was always in the back of their heads," she said of the salon. While it's been a postmod- ern world for about a half century, she notes many people are still drawn to the varying movements of mod- ern art. "I think it helps many rec- ognize Picasso, Matise, Monet and Degas," Salsbury said. "And the fact that it takes place in Paris, that there is such a movement and energy in a concentrat- ed period of time, is exciting for people." Edgar Degas' charcoal "Self- Portrait in a Top Hat" shows one of modern art's great artists. Drawings dominate the 150 works at the Milwaukee Art Museum's modern art exhibit. Pablo Piasso's study for "Three Musicians" was done as a gouache on paper in 1920. 'Degas to Picasso' highlights many faces, artists of modernism Supporting events for the modernism exhibit at the Milwaukee Art Museum: Gallery Talks ■ 1:30 p.m. Nov. 14 with Nikki Otten, research assis- tant, prints and drawings ■ 1:30 p.m. Dec. 12 and Jan. 23 with Britany Salsbury, associate curator of prints and drawings 30-minute Express Talks Meijer Free First Thursdays ■ Noon Dec. 7 ■ Noon Jan. 4 Lecture: "Traditional Painting Violated:" Picasso and the Art of Emulation ■ 6:15 p.m. Nov. 16. Explore the works of Pablo Picasso with Katie Hanson, assistant curator for European paint- ings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Out of the Vault: Works on Paper from Degas to Picasso ■ 1:30 p.m. Dec. 14. Space is limited. RSVP to studycen- ter@mam.org or call 414-224- 3817 to view the works. Kohl's Art Generation Open Studio: Follow the Line ■ Throughout November. Hands-on experience for fam- ilies based on the "Degas to Picasso: Creating Modernism in France" exhibit. At a glance

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