Last month I went up north to the nation’s capital, Canberra (yes, it’s actually not Melbourne, nor Sydney), to see the Masterpieces from Paris – Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and beyond at the National Gallery of Australia. This breakthrough exhibition (it is the first post-impressionist devoted exhibition in Australia) boasts 112 of some of the most famous works of modern art from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, a major museum of 19th-century art. Selected artists no doubt ring a bell with most people: Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Pierre Bonnard, Claude Monet, Maurice Denis, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Edouard Vuillard, among others. I’d been really primed for this exhibition months before (I had previously missed the Edgar Degas exhibition, owing to uni commitments, so I truly was determined to make it this time round!), but as I queued up early that Monday morning I tried not to heighten my already great expectations, especially having travelled so far from home. I’m aware of the criticisms that come with these so-called ‘blockbuster’ exhibitions, but where’s the harm in being swept away in the flurry of mystique, tragedy and exoticism that colours these many paintings?

Somewhat disgruntled that a staff member snapped up my entry pass away as admission (I wanted it to be my souvenir), I quickly brushed the annoyance aside. I could already hear the over-awed and overzealous comments of fellow patrons before we’d even entered the first room. The exhibition itself is not pretentiously or ambitiously designed (think back to National Gallery of Victoria‘s interiors that echoed the eccentricity of Salvador Dali). There are 6 rooms to navigate through: After Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, Cezanne/van Gogh, Gauguin and the Pont-Aven School/Toulouse-Lautrec, Symbolism/The Nabis, and finally Decoration/Rousseau. Altogether a coordinated layout, letting the artists’ vision and unique styles and techniques speak for themselves. NGA has provided a comprehensive online gallery of all works in respective rooms shown, which is awfully good of them, eh?

I suppose what is potentially problematic is the fact that many paintings featured are those that we’ve come to know very intimately through the mass media  (or media reproduction) without having viewed the actual artwork. It’s the Mona Lisa Effect. Finally seeing the real thing leaves you remarkably underwhelmed. In spite of it all, Van Gogh’s Starry Night is always a pleasure to admire in its palpable form, (I first got to see it at NGV‘s Impressionists exhibition in 2004 and it truly moved me then), Monet’s astonishing sense of colour, gestural brushstrokes and his illusory technique are wondrous to view up close; Seurat’s meticulous ‘pointillist’ technique—small daubs of paint juxtaposed together via calculated colour schemes—is frankly mind-boggling; Toulouse-Lautrec’s bold and brassy graphic technique and his affinity for Moulin Rouge prostitutes and dancers are amusing. However, I found that the lesser known artists caught my attention: Pierre Bonnard (possibly my favourite artist from this period next to Renoir), Maurice Denis and Edouard Vuillard, all of whom were part of the Nabis, a Post-Impressionist avant-garde group leading the way in both fine arts and graphic arts, have a strong selection of works featured. Their symbolist work which draws on literature, mythology, philosophy and dreams, capture vignettes of everyday life, using methods established by the earlier post-impressionists. Bonnard’s The White Cat is an adorable example—it has decorative motifs but also abstraction.

I’ve pre-ordered the Masterpieces from Paris catalogue at the “special price” of $39.95. When I was in the NGA shop they had run out of stock. I found that rather short-sighted, seeing as this is one of the most important and logistically expensive events organised. Or perhaps this is an indication of just how huge this show is. Maybe being an indulged Melburnian I’m used to the standards set by NGV. Regardless, I eagerly await my book, if only so I can relive the gallery experience (I can’t very well go back to Canberra like that)

Some of the outstanding paintings that caught my eye:

Georges Seurat was famous for his “pointillist” technique. See it to believe it!

I wrote about Pierre Bonnard’s Siesta – The artist’s studio for my first year uni essay, and have since been a passionate fan of his work. I fell in love with the intimacy and warmth of his colours and subject matter, but there’s a touch of loneliness about it too, which I instantly connected with in this painting, The Man and the Woman [L'homme et la femme]. Or maybe I’m just a refined pervert. Whatever. Us perverts can validate our perversion through art. (Oh wait, not if I’m Bill Henson I can’t)

The pioneer of ‘en plein air’, Claude Monet at his best. I’ve tried to emulate his gestural brushtroke technique and it is HARD!

Maurice Denis explores mythology and decoration in his depiction of the Muses. I love the restrained contours, and the red leafy patterns at the top and bottom.

Another painting by Émile Bernard of his sister Madeleine that depicts everyday life in a profound, idyllic way. I wanted a postcard of this but there wasn’t any!

Masterpieces from Paris is open from 9 Dec 2009 – 5 Apr 2010 at National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.