Undoubtedly one of the most remarkable exhibitions of 2023, Nicolas de Staël at The Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris is a must-see for Parisians and travellers. It remains on view until 21st January 2024 and it’s a fantastic show that will remain in history.

Approximately 200 paintings, sketches, prints, and notebooks from various public and private collections in Europe and the US are gathered for this impressive retrospective. It features a significant collection of rare pieces on display alongside iconic masterpieces like the large-scale Parc des Princes, including about fifty that are being shown in a French museum for the first time.

Nicolas de Staël, a significant figure in the French art scene after World War II follows an exhibition that took place twenty years at the Centre Pompidou, and provides a new perspective on the artist’s oeuvre by referencing more recent themed shows that have brought attention to some of the lesser-known facets of his career (Antibes in 2014, Le Havre in 2014, Aix-en-Provence in 2018).

The artist’s life never stopped impacting his creative process, from his exile following the Russian Revolution to his terrible suicide at the age of 41 in Antibes and following the completion of his red large scale masterpiece titled Le Concert. Staël’s biography quickly formed a myth around his art. The retrospective aims to showcase a painter in action, whether working in the quiet of his studio or facing the landscape, while staying true to Staël’s graphic and artistic studies without undervaluing this magical perspective.

Highlights include personal letters and a fantastic documentary commissioned for the show. Excerpts from this film titled Nicolas de Staël by François Lévy-Kuentz, co-written with Stéphane Lambert and Stéphan Lévy-Kuentz and co-produced by Martin Laurent (Temps Noir) and Arte France, runs continuously in the space and is broadcast in its entirety on Arte.

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Images: view of the exhibition Nicolas de Staël, left, Agripente, 1954 – right Sicily, 1954, vue in situ de l’exposition au Musée d’Art Moderne @ MAM – Paris Musées © Pierre Antoine and Agripente, 1954 (c) Adagp, Paris.