1913-1923 : l'esprit du temps - Paris célèbre les arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie

Dive into the fascinating history of African and Oceanic arts in Paris, where extra‑European objects and avant‑garde works meet and together shape a new vision of modern art.

The beginning of the 20th century marks the introduction of African and Oceanic arts to Paris. These objects, initially seen as ethnographic, were gradually recognized as artworks in their own right—a major turning point in the history of Western art.

Dealers such as Paul Guillaume, Joseph Brummer and Charles Vignier, together with intellectuals, poets and writers like Guillaume Apollinaire and avant‑garde artists such as Vlaminck, Derain, Matisse and Picasso, were at the heart of this movement. Their advocacy helped shift Western perceptions of these objects—long overlooked—into acknowledged works of art.

Through archival documents, photographs and sculptures from Africa and Oceania, 1913–1923: The Spirit of the Times highlights emblematic exhibitions such as those at Galerie Levesque (1913), Lyre et Palette (1916), Galerie Devambez (1919) and the Pavillon de Marsan of the Louvre (1923).

By tracing the history of the reception of these arts, the exhibition evokes the stimulating atmosphere of the Montparnasse quarter and reveals a historic decade that gave rise to the emergence of a new segment of the international art market.