Small, large, color and black and white, paintings, sculptures, photographs... There are a thousand and one ways to create a portrait, to immortalize a face, an identity. The Petit Palais, Paris's museum of fine arts, has drawn on its 19th-century collections to present a panorama of the art of portraiture and self-portraiture.
The exhibitionVisages d'artistes. De Gustave Courbet à Annette Messager(Faces of Artists: From Gustave Courbet to Annette Messager), on view from March 17 to July 19, 2026, highlights a wide selection of very diverse works, all of which answer the same question: "Who am I, who are you?"
Through painting, sculpture, graphic arts, photography, and decorative arts, we discover how 19th-century artists chose to represent themselves or others. The characters are staged, and the elements surrounding them are loaded with meaning and clues that hint at the subject's personality... Or at least, the image they wish to convey.
The artists carefully choose their image and depict their friends, patrons, and loved ones in great detail. Through these portraits, we can trace the social ties that unite these artistic circles.
In addition to the exhibition, the Petit Palais is alsopresenting the works of a dozen contemporary female artists. These creators also play with the portrait genre, questioning its codes and nature. Identity is questioned, tested, and put to the test through these images. What do we want to show, and what do we reveal despite ourselves?
With this exhibition, the Petit Palais aims to offer us an interesting perspective on its collections and on 19th-century artists, who reveal themselves through their art.
Dates and Opening Time
From March 17, 2026 to July 19, 2026
Location
Petit Palais
Avenue Winston Churchill
75008 Paris 8
Official website
www.petitpalais.paris.fr
