The Telfair Museum, the oldest public art museum in the south, was founded in 1883 with a bequest of the home and furnishings of local philanthropist Mary Telfair to the Georgia Society for use as a museum. The museum today is comprised of three buildings: Telfair Academy, Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters, and Jepson Center for the Arts. The Monet to Matisse exhibition is housed in the Jepson Center.
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| Telfair Museum Jepson Center (Source: telfair.org) |
The Monet to Matisse exhibit is drawn from the permanent collection of Memphis' Dixon Gallery and Gardens museum. According to the museum website, "Late nineteenth and early twentieth century French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist landscapes, still life portraits, and figure paintings form the core of the Dixon's painting collection.
As curated, the Monet to Matisse exhibition "... illustrates the radical innovation launched by artists we know today as Impressionists and Post-Impressionists." The exhibition title conveys the period and style of paintings to be expected; and it delivers against this promise.
But it goes beyond that to include works outside the defined period. For example, The Palace, Belle Isle "reveals Matisse already abandoning his Post-Impressionist manner for the vivid and at times arbitrary color relationships that would characterize his Fauve style ... In this dynamic shoreline view where land, sea, and a boat merge in radiant color relationships, we see Matisse taking the first steps toward transforming the art of the next century."
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| Henri Matisse The Palace, Belle Île, about 1896 - 1897 |
The exhibition also contains two pieces from the Modernist Marc Chagall.
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| Marc Chagall Bouquet of Flowers with Lovers, 1927 |
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| Marc Chagall Dreamer, 1945 |
At the other end of the spectrum, we see Henri Fantin-Latour's Still Life which hearkens back to the traditions of French Romanticism and Realism.
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| Henri Fantin-Latour Still Life, 1869 |
A large majority of the exhibition pieces is shown in the pictures following.
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| Maximilien Luce The Cathedral at Gisors, View of the Ramparts, 1898 |
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| Claude Monet Port of Dieppe, Evening, 1882 |
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| Alfred Sisley The Quays of the Seine during Snow Season, 1879 |
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| Alfred Sisley The Seine at Billancourt, about 1877 - 78 |
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| Claude Monet Village Street, about 1869 - 71 |
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| Jean-François Raffaelli The Place d'Italie after the Rain, 1877 |
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| Paul Cézanne Trees and Rocks, Near the Château Noir, about 1900 - 1906 |
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| Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot The Paver of the Chailly Road, Fontainebleu, ca. 1830 - 35 |
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| Camille Pissarro View from the Artist's Studio at Éragny, 1894 |
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| Paul Signac St. Briac, the Cross of the Seamen, 1885 |
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| Pierre-Auguste Renoir The Wave, 1882 |
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| Berthe Morisot Peasant Girl among Tulips |
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| Henri Stanislas Rouart Woman Playing the Guitar, ca. 1885 - 90 |
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| Pierre-Auguste Renoir The Picture Book, ca. 1897 |
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| John Singer Sargent Ramón Sabercaseaux in a Gondola, 1880 |
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| Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Dancer Seated on a Pink Divan, 1884 |
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| Edgar Degas Ballet Scene, 1880 |
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| Mary Cassatt The Visitor, about 1880 |
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| Paul Gauguin Bathing in Front of the Port of Pont-Aven, 1886 |
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| Chaim Soutine Landscape at Cagnes, about 1922 |
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| Pierre Bonnard Woman Picking Flowers, 1916 |
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| Camille Pissarro The Jetty at Le Havre, High Tide, Morning Sun, 1903 |
A scintillating mix of artists and styles. Well worth the effort.
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