The Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) has announced its summer exhibition 'Decadent Spirit: French Art at the Turn of the Century,' on view from May 29 to September 6. Featuring over 130 works spanning 1880 to 1910, the show highlights artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard, Jules Chéret, Hector Guimard, and Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, alongside early film pioneers Auguste and Louis Lumière, Georges Méliès, and Alice Guy-Blaché. The exhibition includes works on paper, painting, sculpture, metalwork, interior and urban design, and early film, exploring the cafés, streets, theaters, and domestic scenes of fin-de-siècle Paris. It closes with an 1899 French motorcar, symbolizing the era's new mobility.
This exhibition marks GRAM's first major historical show on this period in two decades, offering a comprehensive look at the Belle Époque's artistic and cultural transformation. By examining how artists responded to rapid industrialization, technological advances, and changing social norms, 'Decadent Spirit' underscores the enduring influence of French art on modern visual language. The show is supported by the Michigan Arts and Culture Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wege Foundation, and other local funders, reflecting a strong community investment in art historical scholarship.