2023 is shaping up to be an incredible year for art exhibits in Paris.
I’ll be visiting many interesting exhibitions throughout the coming months.
The Parisian cultural calendar is jam-packed with wonderful programming. There are major art shows in Paris featuring everything from haute-couture to impressionism to the art of Pharaohs in ancient Egypt. I can’t wait to dive in and share my insights with you.
If you’d like to read about these adventures in Paris, mak sure to connect with me by email : flora@tours-in-paris.
I’ll be detailing all the interesting art, fashion, and history to be discovered in the City of Lights.
2023 Art Exhibitions in Paris
Below, I’ve assembled what I consider the most promising Paris art exhibitions for this upcoming year. Given the depth and scope of these, it seems like 2023 is going to be unforgettable.
On my news section, you’ll get in-depth articles featuring the background of these exhibitions, along with my thoughts on their impact and execution.
1. Basquiat x Warhol: Painting Four Hands
● Where: Louis Vuitton Foundation
● When: April 5 to August 28
● Tickets: Yes
The Louis Vuitton Foundation first showed paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat in 2018. Five years later, they are bringing his work back with a new concept. In the mid-80s, Basquiat and Andy Warhol collaborated on nearly 160 paintings. And this new exhibition shows these along with a range of other artwork created in their circle at the time.
Many of these collaborative pieces were feverishly produced one after another, giving this body a coherence that few series of this size can sustain.
These enormous works will be on display, along with solo work by each artist. To make this even more special, major voices from the same New York art scene will have representative pieces to develop a compelling portrait of a time and place. Other artists include Keith Haring, Jenny Holzer, Kenny Scharf, and Michael Halsband.
I’m especially excited for this exhibit because I love the work of Basquiat. His energy and unique style are the height of neo-expressionism. He was willing to take risks and seek out new horizons without fear. And because his work is paired with his friend and sometimes mentor Warhol, the exhibition promises to bring that entire circle of artists to life.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit their website.
2. Manet and Degas in Orsay 2023
● Where: Musée d'Orsay
● When: March 28 to July 23
● Tickets: Yes
Impressionism revolutionized Western art, changing the way people painted forever.
This loosely-aligned group of artists caused so much uproar when they burst onto the scene, and in the many generations since, they’ve gone on to influence every corner of the field.
Two of the central figures in this story are Édouard Manet and Edgar Degas. These two artists vacillated from feelings of deep camaraderie and friendship for one another to enmity and rivalry. And yet, their art has such clear connections to one another it is striking.
The exhibition draws on a collaboration between the Orsay, the nearby Musée de l'Orangerie, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. These three major institutions present a stunning retelling of a friendship living at the heart of the most influential group of painters ever.
Of course, I love Impressionism. Living in Paris, which served as the backdrop for this historical movement, I have been blessed to witness so much of the school’s best work. And it is great to see the intimate, human stories within this history being told by three institutions with such tremendous resources.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit their website.
You can book with us a private guided tour of D'orsay museum
3. The Gold of Yves Saint Laurent
● Where: Musée Yves Saint Laurent
● When: October 14, 2022 to May 14, 2023
● Tickets: Yes
It is no surprise that if you love the history of haute couture, you should visit the Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Paris. And given that Yves Saint Laurent launched his first collection under his own name 60 years ago, this institution had to do something big in celebration.
Since the 60th year marks the gold anniversary, the museum is focusing on the designer’s use of gold in his fashion. It turns out, they had plenty to work with. YSL made virtually every element of women’s fashion with gold at least once in his storied career.
By arranging the exhibition around a single color, we get a refreshing view of the YSL style and what made it such a powerhouse in fashion. The museum is also bringing in Johan Creten, a visual artist from Belgium, to present five works on the subject of gold in art. That reinforces the striking perspective the museum is taking for this interesting exhibit.
There is no better city for fashion than Paris, and this exhibit at the Musée Yves Saint Laurent is just the kind of thing you really can’t find anywhere else.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit their website.
4. Ramses and the Gold of Pharaohs
● Where: Grande halle de la Villette
● When: April 7 to September 6
● Tickets: Yes
Let’s stick with our gold theme for a moment as we turn to an exhibition that harkens back to the Egyptomania of a previous Parisian era. In Ramses and the Gold of Pharaohs, the Grande halle de la Villette plays host to 181 golden artifacts from ancient Egypt.
The items circle around Egypt’s most famous leader: Ramses the Great. But this will not simply be items stuck behind glass. The exhibition is using incredible storytelling and set building to produce a fully immersive experience. Visitors will enjoy stunning rooms that bring them deep into the culture and legacy of ancient Egypt. And there is even a virtual reality experience to take visitors on an exciting journey.
This promises to be a wonderful exhibition, especially for children. It also reminds us of the long fascination that Paris has had with the world of ancient Egypt. This harkens back to the 1976 exhibition on Ramses II at the Grand Palais, an event that drew hundreds of thousands at the time. Almost five decades later, our appetite for Egyptian wonders is still insatiable.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit their website.
5. Chagall, Paris — New York
● Where: Atelier des Lumières
● When: February 17, 2023 to January 7, 2024
● Tickets: Yes
In recent years, we have seen a rise in immersive experiences focused on painters using large exhibition spaces and projected video animating the artist’s works. Van Gogh’s has probably been the most successful. Now, Marc Chagall gets the same treatment. The event is running simultaneously in Paris and New York City, each art hub serving as a home for Chagall during critical moments in his career.
While elements of his work — from animals to opera characters to fairy tale creatures — swirl around the space, music from his life and time play. The scale is enormous, drowning the viewer in the spectacle.
For those who love Chagall or love these kinds of immersive artist experiences, it is a can’t-miss opportunity. This exhibition would be great to pair with a trip to the Paris Opera House, where his legendary painting on the ceiling can still be seen today.
Brought to life by Gianfranco Iannuzzi and Spectrelab, along with music by Start-Rec, this digital exhibition will be a delight for Chagall lovers, and it is sure to spark a love of art in the young.
For more information and to buy tickets, visit their website.
6. Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette and the Revolution
● Where: Archives Nationales | Hôtel de Soubise in Le Marais
● When: March 29 to November 6
● Tickets: No
Marie Antoinette is one of the most fascinating characters in French history, and this exhibition focuses on her most dire time.
Marie Antoinette between the breakout of revolution in 1789 to her execution in 1793
This exhibit in le Marais shows us a wealth of material from Antoinette leaving Versailles, through the abolition of the monarchy, and to the establishment of the first Republic. Because of the immense collection held by the National Archives, we will be treated to hundreds of paintings, drawings, documents, letters, engravings, and even furniture from the royal family’s most perilous years.
It is a dramatic story, one told by an institution with the resources to do it right. And to make it all even better, this exhibition is made entirely free to the public.
I love tracing the daily life of the royal family. But while most of this is focused on the storybook palace of Versailles, the years of the royal family at the Tuileries (where they fled once revolution gripped the nation) are seldom explored in much detail. This exhibition changes that!
For more information and to buy tickets, visit their website.
The Exhibit happens in le Marais, a village-like preserved district of Paris, home to many Art Galleries and Designers.
Themed Tours of Paris for Families and Couples
Beyond the exciting new exhibitions in Paris for 2023.
My team and I are also introducing new themed tours perfect for families with kids visiting Paris and other tours perfect for couples throughout the coming year. So whenever you schedule your trip, make sure to see everything we have to offer.
For now, let’s take a peak at one of our most anticipated and requested tours: the Père Lachaise Cemetery.
New for Spring 2023: the Père Lachaise Cemetery Tour
The Père Lachaise Cemetery is the most famous resting place in all of Europe. It has many celebrity graves — including Frédéric Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, Gertrude Stein, Sarah Bernard, Édith Piaf, and Jim Morrison.
The monuments, headstones, and other features are gorgeous to look at, and the historical details abound among these winding paths.
This one-of-a-kind cemetery tour is quiet and contemplative, giving you a unique perspective on the City of Lights.
To learn more, you can inquire about my Pere lachaise Guided tour.
Looking Forward to meet you in 2023 in Paris
2023 is shaping up to be a wonderful year for art, history, and fashion in Paris.
Remember to bookmark the link, come back and check my upcoming Paris Art news to get interesting information on all of these shows, for free !
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