Sargent. The Paris Years (1874-1884)

In autumn 2025, the musée d'Orsay is devoting an exceptional exhibition to John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) a major figure in American and European painting. Entitled ‘The Paris Years’, this retrospective highlights a decisive decade in the artist's career, from his arrival in Paris in 1874 to his departure for London in the mid-1880s.

Paris, the crucible of a daring style

Trained by Carolus-Duran, Sargent immersed himself in the artistic effervescence of Paris, between Naturalism and Impressionism. It was here that he forged a virtuoso, daring style that was as seductive as it was disturbing. The exhibition brings together more than 90 works, some never before shown in France, tracing this period of creative ferment and decisive encounters.

Portraitist of modernity

Through his striking portraits - from the elegant Dr Pozzi to the mysterious Madame X - Sargent captures the soul of a cosmopolitan society in the throes of change. The exhibition reveals an artist in constant search of innovation, at the crossroads of worlds and influences, between academic tradition and flamboyant modernity.
'The Paris Years' is not just an exhibition: it's an immersion in the Paris of the Belle Époque, as seen by a young American fascinated by the light, faces and contrasts of the capital. A rare opportunity to rediscover a major painter, in the very city that revealed him.

Experience intense cultural emotions in the Paris Region's exhibitions.