Proust and modern Paris: a journey through art and literature

Proust and modern Paris: a journey through art and literature

Vienna, AT - In Madrid, a fascinating exhibition is currently being dedicated to illuminating Marcel Proust's life and work by the eyes of his homeland in Paris. The show, which can be seen in the Thyssen Museum until June 8, leads visitors into the pulsating world of the Third Republic, in which Proust formed its famous stories and characters. Here the Paris of the late 19th century, a center of modernity, can be experienced that inspired not only the writer, but also numerous impressionists, such as Edouard Manet and Claude Monet, who admired Proust and with which he had friendships. The first edition of his work "Freuden und Days" (1896), which opened the exhibition, illustrates its fascination for art in a city where theater and cafés were living meeting points for intellectual spirits, ​​vienna.at .

A look at the memories

The exhibition revives the most important painters of the time while exploring places that shaped Proust's novels. A Highlight is the painting "Modist on the Champs-Élysées" by Jean Béraud, which captures the glamorous atmosphere of Parisian life. Proust himself also addressed painting in his books, giving expression in the "Musée du Louvre" of his admiration for great masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer. These influences are supplemented by over 136 works by Impressionists and other artists who influenced Proust, including Tissot and Bonnat, who are also part of this unique show.
In connection with Prousts Youth, his time at the Lycée Condorcet is also discussed, where he was schooling from 1882 to 1889. Despite health restrictions, he was an eager literary student and maintained contacts with important personalities of his time, as reported by parismees.far .

The exhibition not only aims to present Proust's passion for art and its literary beginnings, but also to illustrate the deep connections between his life and the culture of the time. Among other things, his fascination for the Gothic churches of France is also analyzed, as it is expressed in Helleus paintings "Interior of the Cathedral of Reims" (1892). The curator Fernando Checa hopes that the visitors will be suggested by the exhibition to discover Prousts works and to be drawn into his literary worlds.