Paris of Belle Epoque in National Gallery

Paris of Belle Epoque will move to Athens for the next three months! Time will go back to the early 20th century, with lots of paintings and other treasures from the Petit Palais that will presented from today till February 28th, 2011, in the National Art Gallery of Athens. The legendary Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress the world has even known as she has been referred to, poses laying on a sofa with a dog at her legs. Elegant women in Paris look at the world through the paintings of Pierre Renoir and Camille Pissaro. Glass jewerly of Rene Lalique photographed on furniture of art nouveau. About 100 pieces of French art will be presented in this exhibition entitled Paris 1900, Art Nouveau and Modernism, treasures from the Petit Palais to the Greek National Gallery. In this important exhibition, modernism will co-exist with art nouveau and misery with cosmopolitan life. Large photographs from Paris of 1900 will be presented at the entrance of the Gallery and then visitors will see paintings from the public life of the French capital, with emphasis on impressionism. A large unit will follow dedicated to Sarah Bernhardt, with her photographs, portraits, even her depiction on plates. The atmosphere of the Parisian salons will emerge from furniture, flower pots, jewelry and designs of that era. However, the exhibition will not present only the bourgeoisie of the Belle Epoque, but also the working class and the miserables who were fighting for a better life.