"Degenerate" art: Modern art on trial under the Nazis

The new exhibition at the musée Picasso Paris, the first in France to focus on so-called ‘degenerate art’, explores from 18 February to 25 May 2025 the Nazi regime's methodical attack on modern art and highlights Pablo Picasso's central place.

A look at the dark history of modern art

The exhibition looks back at the propaganda exhibition ‘Entartete Kunst’ (Degenerate Art) held in Munich in 1937, which featured over 700 works by around a hundred modern artists, including Otto Dix, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Vassily Kandinsky, Emil Nolde, Paul Klee and Max Beckmann. The staging was intended to provoke visitors' disgust and denounce the artistic avant-garde as a threat to German “purity”.

Pablo Picasso, emblematic figure of ‘degenerate’ art

Pablo Picasso, designated a ‘degenerate’ artist as early as the 1920s, is at the heart of this exhibition. His works, along with those of many other artists, were confiscated, destroyed or sold by the Nazi regime. By choosing to devote this exhibition to this dark chapter in the history of art, the musée Picasso offers a richer reflection on the artistic persecutions and their lasting impact on artistic creation.

A cultural programme to understand the artistic and political issues at stake

Alongside the exhibition, the musée Picasso is offering a series of conferences, symposia and workshops to deepen our understanding of this historic period and its repercussions on modern art.

Other cultural emotions can be experienced in the museums of the Paris Region.