Thomas Eakins (1844-1916) An American Realist

This retrospective presents for the first time in France the most important paintings, photographs and sculptures by the greatest American artist at the turn of the century after Winslow Homer.
Trained in Paris by Bonnat and Gérôme, Thomas Eakins practised an art that was remarkable for its scientific rigour in representing typically American contemporary subjects, in particular the sporting life. Eakins's work is also crucial in investigating the relationship between painting and photography in the nineteenth century.
The exhibition highlights the complex and stimulating links between the two techniques. This confrontation reveals an artist haunted by the representation of the body, who explored, often audaciously, one of the founding themes of modern American culture and imagination.