French painting today

kind of internal logic and necessity which resembles a method and asserts itself over the methods of historians. I t is in a wonderfully comprehen- sible light that the rigorous classicism first of David, then of Ingres, was followed by the romantic revolution, then realism, impressionism, and finally the revolutions accomplished by those three strange and fascinat- ing geniuses, Cezanne, Gauguin and Van Gogh. Everything which followed stems from this heritage. We have sources and references at ou r disposal to consider and understand it. We know to what origins, reasons, or contradictions to relate some recent plastic invention, perhaps surprising bu t i n no way arbitrary o r gratuitous and which responds to a living necessity. Therefore a movement so well estab- lished and assured as that of modern French painting should offer us, in this period, figures as indubitably masters as their most famous pre- decessors. And it is thus that above this unceasing production, today more complex than ever, creators can be distinguished who by their age and the whole evolution and accomplishment of their work, have attained lasting glory: Braque, Chagall, Dufy, Leger, Matisse, Picasso, Rouault, Villon. Admiration picks them out, places and judges the asthetic movements and schools opposed to each other dur ing this half-century from 1900 to 1950: fauvism, cubism, expressionism, sur- realism, re turn to realism, naïve art, abstract art. A half-century tremen- dously tumultuous and prolific, during which French genius has shone w i t h such arresting brilliance that it has drawn into its orbit the most impatient and audacious artists from all over the world. T h e present French school must be considered not only as an expression of our national genius bu t as a phenomenon of universal culture, and it is in this sense that it bears the henceforth illustrious name of T h e School of Paris. We hope that the Australian public, who in spite of being so far away we know to be keenly interested in and aware of everything that has been and is being done in France in the realm of the arts, will be able to distinguish the different currents and the leading figures of this work in the selection which we have the honour to present to them on a small scale, b u t which is expressive of a vast and multiple output. Wha t we particularly hope is that they may feel how very much alive this production is through its very conflicts and contrasts, and that they may feel all the deep passion which it reveals. One may take sides for o r against abstract art, taste the intellec- tualist, rationalist, and constructive orientation which cubism has impressed on present-day art, in preference to the constant and viva- cious tradition of colour and movement which fauvism represented. T h e best way to show that one understands the significance and impli- cation of a spiritual debate is, assuredly, to take part in it oneself according to one's own temperament, according as to whether one feels oneself inspired by the spirit of geometry o r by delicacy of execution, by the principles of reason, o r the intuitions of vital dynamism. But also, beyond his own personal preferences, the open-minded person will feel that these very preferences a nd those to which they are opposed are a sign of life. I n all this spiritual adventure which is ou r history of modern painting, there is debate, diversity and constant renewal, therefore life. I t is this permanence of the creative energy of ou r nation which we would like people to recognise i n this exhibition, organised by the "Direction des Relations Culturelles et l'Association Française d'Action Artistique," for a great, far-distant country which we know to be one of the youngest and with the most promising future, called upon today to take part in the universal task of civilization. We are indeed grateful to His Excellency the Governor-General of Australia, Sir William McKell, and to the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Robert Gordon Menzies, for showing such interest in this exhibition, and for assuring us of the support for it of the Commonwealth authorities, thus making its realisation possible. We likewise thank Sir Charles Lloyd Jones, Vice-President of the Board of Trustees of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the Directors and Trustees of the National Galleries of Australia for whom Mr. Ha l Missingham, Direc- tor of T h e National Ar t Gallery of New South Wales, has prepared and organised this exhibition. J E A N CASSOU Conservateur e n Che f d u Mu s é e Na t i ona l d ' Ar t Moderne [ 8 ] [9]