Art Exhibit: “Electric Paris” in Williamstown

Paris was named the City of Lights during the enlightenment period, long before gas lights ran up and down every street. Gas lamps in the 1850s were quickly followed by the adoption of electric street lamps in the 1870s in Paris. The city was one of the early adopters of artificial light both indoors and outdoors.

S. Hollis Clayson, an art history professor at Northwestern University, put together an art exhibit called “Electric Paris” which includes various art forms such as paintings, early films, and advertisements. The exhibit looks at the effects of artificial lighting in the arts and media in Paris through the years. Some of the artists featured are Edgar Degas, Pierre Bonnard, and many others. The exhibit will be running through April 21st at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute at 225 South Street in Williamstown, MA. For more information, visit www.clarkedu.com

Edgar Degas’s circa 1879 pastel “Entrance of the Masked Dancers” from “Electric Paris.”