Enemy of the Impressionists, vilified by the modernists, autocratic teacher of Mary Cassatt, Thomas Eakins and several painters who would later be labeled American Impressionists, and one of the most controversial, successful and popular painters of the last half of the 19th Century, Jean-Léon Gérôme stood out from the labels of Orientalist and Academic that are usually applied to him.
Despite the criticisms that can be leveled at him (and there are justifications for several), Gérôme was above all a masterful painter; and it seems to be in that spirit that the Getty Center in Los Angeles is presenting The Spectacular Art of Jean-Léon Gérôme, an exhibition of his work over a span of 40 years.
The exhibition runs from tomorrow, June 15, to September 12, 2010.
For more, see my previous post on Jean-Léon Gérôme.
[Addendum: The exhibit is co-curated by Musée d’Orsay and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux in collaboration with the museum Thyssen-Bornemisza of Madrid. The exhibition will be at the Musée d’Orsay from 19 October 2010 to 23 January 2011.]
