Younger French Painters of Today

The American visitor to Paris during the past year did not feel as though he had come from a provincial wasteland to the center of art as he would probably have felt some twenty-five years ago. But while Paris is perhaps no longer the nucleus of the art world and it has certainly lost its important position in such fields as architecture, sculpture, furniture and the crafts, its painting has experienced a renewed vitality since the war. The weekly Arts lists almost one hundred exhibitions, and of course only a fraction of what is produced is ever shown in the galleries. With his first glance the visitor becomes fully aware of the truly international character of contemporary painting. The similarities for instance between French and American endeavor are more pronounced than the differences. Yet certain important distinctions make themselves felt.