The Twentieth Century, from Symbolism to Cubism

 

The Bordeaux native painter Odilon Redon, one of the pioneers of Symbolism, extoled a return to sacredness and spiritualism as a reaction to the positivism of the end of the 19th century. The use of pure colour in works with vivid and violent contrasts characterizes the Fauve revolution founded in the Salon d’automne in 1905 by Bordeaux native Marquet, Matisse and Valtrat. As for sculpture, the young followers of Rodin embodied modernity by placing the creative act in the centre of their artistic research. 

 

Odilon Redon, Le char d'Apollon, 1909 

Photo : F. Deval

 

In a this room, visitors can discover the array of techniques explored by the realist artists of that time, such as the neoclassicism of Robert Wlérick and Pablo Picasso, Art Deco with Louis-Robert Bate and Jean Dupas, Georges Dorignac’s sculptural creations and the dark works of Maurice de Vlaminck. This series also showcases some of Bordeaux’s most renowned artists of the same period, such as Albert Marquet and Lucien Schnegg, alongside the Robert Coustet collection with François-Maurice Roganeau, Félix Carme and Jacques-Emile Blanche.

20th Century: Expérimentations Formelles, an ensemble of works from impressionism to cubism also dating from the early half of the 20th century
 

Exhibit from the end of June 2024, this last room will present some of the formal studies which led 20th-century artists away from strictly figurative representations. Visitors can explore a series of cubist works by Georges Braque, Alice Halicka and Tobeen, in addition to expressionist works by Chaïm Soutine and Oskar Kokoschka. Lastly, a special tribute is paid to André Lhote, one of Bordeaux’s greatest 20th-century artists, with a collection of works illustrating his artistic development.