Paris and the Russian Avant-Garde, 1900–1930 - five online talks by Dr Natalia Murray

If you wish to register for this series after 10-Sept-25, please e-mail onlinetalks@martinrandall.co.uk

These five talks explore the significant impact of Russian artists in Paris during the early 20th century, and the influence of French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists on Russian artists in turn. We will examine the artistic contributions, social networks, cultural identity and historical context of these migrations.

In the period 1900 to 1930, Paris attracted artists from all over the world becoming a hub of creative activity, referred to as the ‘School of Paris’. Many Russian émigrés at one time lived and studied in the city and became central figures in the development of European modern art. They included Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky, Natalia Goncharova and Chaïm Soutine. Back in Russia, others readily absorbed the works of Cézanne, Gauguin, Matisse, Picasso and Le Fauconnier, brought to Moscow by the merchant collectors Ivan Morozov and Sergei Shchukin.

The talks take place every Wednesday from 10th September to 8th October 2025 at 4.30pm (London) and, including Q&A, will last just under an hour. They are available for viewing for eight weeks after the last episode is streamed (3rd December 2025).