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The Spectacular Art of Jean-Léon Gérôme
The J. Paul Getty Museum Junio 15-Septiembre 12-2010
Jean-Léon Gérôme A greek interior,1850,oil on canvas,collection Lady Micheline Connery
Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904) was among the most officially honored and
financially successful French artists of the second half of the 19th
century. His brilliantly painted and often provocative pictures were at
the center of heated debates over the present and future of the great
French painting tradition. Reproduced using brand new photomechanical
processes and dispersed across Europe and America, Gérôme's images
indelibly marked the popular imagination, directly influencing
spectacular forms of mass entertainment, from theater to film.
Through most of the 20th century, however, Gérôme's critical reputation
was tarnished by his alleged commercialism and his stubborn opposition
to the triumphant avant-garde movements of Impressionism and
Postimpressionism. The first comprehensive exhibition of his work in
almost 40 years, this exhibition offers the opportunity to reconsider
the variety and complexity of Gérôme's masterful oeuvre.
The exhibition brings together works that span Gérôme's entire career,
from his early "Néo-Grec" paintings with their lighthearted take on
classical antiquity, to his wide variety of historical scenes that still
impress with their dramatic realism. A core group of Gérôme's
Orientalist genre paintings are also on view. These paintings were
inspired by the people and architecture he saw on his many voyages,
beginning in the late 1850s, to Egypt, the Holy Land, and Asia Minor.
Late in life, Gérôme shifted his focus to sculpture, conducting
innovative experiments with polychromy that were informed by the latest
archeological knowledge of antique sculpture. Although derided by
critics, Gérôme's colorful, ornate statues—key examples of which are
included in the exhibition—were popular among collectors, for whom he
had them reproduced in a variety of sizes and materials.
This exhibition is organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles,
the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, and the Réunion des musées nationaux, Paris,
in association with the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. The exhibition
is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and
the Humanities.