17th - 20th centuries · French masters, workshops and schools

From the constructed landscapes of Claude Lorrain to the modern figures of Delacroix, Degas and Renoir, French artists have renewed story, light, movement and daily life.

The history of French artists does not follow a single path. In the 17th century, Claude Lorrain built ideal landscapes in Rome where light, architecture and depth herald a lasting tradition. In the 19th century, Delacroix liberated color and movement in romantic painting; Degas observes the work of dancers through unexpected framing; Renoir gives portraits and modern leisure a luminous material. These trajectories show how academic training, travel, trade fairs, independent exhibitions and international exchanges have allowed very different personalities to transform European painting. The selection "French painting - French artists" notably compares Four Ballerinas on Stage - Edgar Degas and Liberty Leading the People - Eugène Delacroix. His reading favors color.

A national school exists less through a common formula than through the succession of painters capable of shifting the rules of their time.