This past weekend I paid a visit to the Denver Art Museum for its new exhibit on American Painters in France. Complete with an audio wand (usually you have to pay extra for that), one hears and sees the French influenced works; covering the period between 1855 and 1913.
From room to room, you can see the progress from sketches and first impressions as students from the École des BeauxArts to the masterpieces that graced the Paris Salon. The audio reveals what it was like to be a student at the BeauxArts and later as a painter, visiting Grez Sur Loing and Giverny for inspiration.
It was a treat observing the large canvasses, not only from Cassatt and Whistler, but from John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam and Henry Ossawa Tanner. My favorite was La Cigale (The Cicada) by Robert Reid. It has this Art Nouveau appeal, which is one of my favorite art styles. In the background there was whimsical French inspired music playing. You can see the playlist as you walk into the gift shop.
I got a kick out of noticing the last painting displayed by Edward Hopper, Les Ponts des Arts, because it indicated the start of Modernism. It seemed out of place, yet it made since in the timeline that the exhibit was taking patrons through.
After viewing the exhibit, I puzzled over the title of it since there were more Cassatt paintings than Whistler. There was practically a whole room dedicated to her. Perhaps it could have been titled Cassatt to Sargent? I believe there were more of his.
What the Art?! Art History Simplified 