New Paris Museum Exhibitions For 2022 – Paris Better Than Ever

There is always a lot going on in Paris and this season is no exception. The calendars of the top Paris museums reveal an exciting lineup of new exhibitions at musées in every corner of the city — the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, Quai Branly, Petit Palais — even the Picasso Museum.

Museum Exhibitions at the Louvre 2022

When the most popular museum in the world announces its new exhibitions art lovers sit up and pay attention. Even with lockdown and other difficulties, curators have been busy planning interesting new exhibitions.

Paris to Athens – Birth of Modern Greece

To celebrate the bicentenary of the Greek Revolution, the Louvre presents an exciting exhibition that traces the artistic link between Greek and European culture; specifically focussing on Paris and Athens. The show concludes with works by the Greek group TECHNE, which exhibited in Paris in 1919.

• Louvre, Hall Napoleon
• Ends February 7, 2022
• Information…

Pharaoh of the Two Lands

Discover the ancient history of Sudan and the Nile Delta. This exhibition also commemorates the bicentenary anniversary of the godfather of Egyptology, Jean-Francois Champollion. A professor at only nineteen years old, Champollion later translated hieroglyphics while working at the Louvre.

• Louvre, Hall Napoleon
• April 7, 2022 to July 25, 2022
• Information…

From Afar: Precious Objects from Elsewhere

Since ancient times carnelian, lapis lazuli, ebony, and other precious materials have circulated along trade routes. This exhibition highlights these precious materials as well as exotic animals who have traveled between the continents since the Middle Ages.

• Louvre, Petite Galerie
• Ends July 4, 2022
• Information…

Museum Exhibitions at Musée d'Orsay 2022

Once a Belle Epoque train station, in 1986 Musée d'Orsay was transformed into the world's greatest museum dedicated to Impressionism and 19th century art. A few years ago the museum was given a facelift with a nifty reshuffling of the paintings and a new paint job to better highlight the artwork. (White walls are so 20th century.)

Yves Saint Laurent

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Yves Saint Laurent's first fashion show under his own name, special exhibitions are being mounted at the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, Centre Pompidou, the Paris Museum Of Modern Art, the Picasso Musum, and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum. Each museum has a different focus and theme — the Louvre showcases his love of gold, the Pompidou focuses on his modernity, and Musée d'Orsay examines the influence of Marcel Proust on the designs of YSL.

• Musée d'Orsay
• Ends May 15, 2022
• Information…

Signac, the Collector

Paul Signac (1863-1935), who with Georges Seurat invented the painting style called pointillism, was also a keen art collector. See his fabulous collection of works by Bonnard, Matisse, Fauves.

• Musée d'Orsay
• Ends February 13, 2022
• Information…

James McNeill Whistler

A large collection of paintings by James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) travels from New York for the first time in more than a century for this exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay.

• Musée d'Orsay
• February 8 to May 8, 2022
• Information…

Gaudí

Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926), architect and designer, left his mark on Spain at the turn of the 20th century and continues to fascinate today. For the first time in fifty years in France, a large-scale exhibition is dedicated to this master of Art Nouveau.

• Musée d'Orsay
• April 12, 2022 to July 17, 2022
• Information…

Aristide Maillol

Maillol, born in a small fishing village in the Pyrénées, moved to Paris in 1881 to study painting at the École des Beaux-Arts. But a chance encounter with Paul Gauguin changed the direction of his art. By age 40, he was a dedicated sculptor.

• Musée d'Orsay
• April 12, 2022 to August 21, 2022
• Information…

Edvard Munch – A Poem of Love, Life and Death

In collaboration with the Munch Museum in Oslo, the Musée d'Orsay is dedicating an exhibition to the famous Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863-1944).

• Musée d'Orsay
• September 20, 2022 to January 22, 2023
• Information…

Rosa Bonheur

To celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899), the Musée des Beaux-Arts in her hometown of Bordeaux and the Musée d'Orsay in Paris are organizing a major retrospective of her paintings.

• Musée d'Orsay & Musée des Beaux-Arts (Bordeaux)
• October 18 to January 15, 2023
• Information…

Museum Exhibitions at Centre Pompidou 2022

It's been over five decades since the opening of the Pompidou in 1970 and for 2022 the modern art hits just keep on coming with fascinating exhibits for modern museum goers. Visit as much as you can in 2022 and 2023, before the museum closes for yet another renovation slated to last three years. (In the world of Paris museum renovations, three years usually means five!)

Petits Papiers du 20e Siècle

Paul Destribats (1926-2017) was an avant-garde collector and scholar. This exhibition showcases 12,000 of the "little papers" — leaflets, posters, and documents from his collection — that have been donated to the Kandinsky Library.

• Centre Pompidou
• Ends January 31, 2022
• Information…

The People of Tomorrow, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

This exhibition-workshop by French artist Jean-Charles de Castelbajac stimulates children's artistic sensibility and draws their attention to the signs of our times.

• Centre Pompidou
• Ends May 9, 2022
• Information…

Gaston Paris

A talented photographer and reporter, Gaston Paris (1905-1964) was a virtuoso technician and brilliant observer.

• Centre Pompidou
• Ends April 18, 2022
• Information…

Yves Saint Laurent at the Museums

It's the 60th anniversary of Yves Saint Laurent's first fashion show and different exhibits will be shown at the major museums in Paris. At the Pompidou, it's all about Mondrian's influence on YSL — naturally!

• Centre Pompidou
• Ends May 15, 2022
• Information…

Charles Ray

A major figure in contemporary American sculpture, Charles Ray (b. 1953) currently lives and works in Los Angeles. This is the first exhibition in France to feature his work.

• Centre Pompidou
• February 9 to June 13, 2022
• Information…

Shirley Jaffe – Une Américaine à Paris

Born in 1923 in New Jersey, Shirley Jaffe studied art at Cooper Union and left for Paris in 1949. She remained here and forged a career in abstract art right up until her death at age 92.

• Centre Pompidou
• April 20 to August 29, 2022
• Information…

Exhibitions at Musée du Quai Branly 2022

Dedicated to the study of mankind and the world, Musée du Quai Branly showcases world cultures — African, Asian, Oceania, and the Americas. The museum is relatively new to the landscape of Paris museums, opening in 2006. It's very close to the Eiffel Tower.

Architect Jean Nouvel gets around. After he designed the controversial Institute du Monde Arabe in Paris, he went onto to create Musée du Quai Branly. The museum is a jumble of forms that also features tranquil gardens with a natural aesthetic — no formal French gardens, no lawns, no lavish entrance staircase. Instead, the garden is a series of small landscapes with native French plants.

Out Of The Shadows, Sculptures From Southwest Congo

Shining a spotlight on Bandundu, a former province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this exhibition features 150 works from this little-known, yet artistic region.

• Musée du Quai Branly
• Ends April 10, 2022
• Information…

On The Road To Chiefdoms Of Cameroon

Discover the art of the communities settled on the high-altitude plateaus of Grassfields, in west Cameroon.

• Musée du Quai Branly
• April 5, 2022 to July 17, 2022
• Information…

Future Lullaby: The Cradle of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

This exhibition is all about lullabies heard through the ages and across continents. This one may be a sleeper hit.

• Musée du Quai Branly
• May 20, 2022 to September 25, 2022
• Information…

Petit Palais Exhibitions 2022

If you're in the mood for a small museum, make your way to the impossibly adorable Petit Palais, found directly across the street from big brother, the Grand Palais on Avenue Winston Churchill in the 8th Arrondissement (easy walking distance from Place de la Concorde). Built for the 1900 Universal Expo, the Petit Palais is now the home to the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Paris, the city's fine arts museum. There's a pretty interior courtyard and a cafe to relax in before or after viewing the museum. We always stop in when we're in the area, especially since it's free!

Albert Edelfelt – Pioneer of Finnish Painting

Like many artists of the time, Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905) launched his career in Paris. His portrait of Louis Pasteur was acclaimed at the 1886 Salon, launching his career. This is the artist's first Parisian retrospective.

• Petit Palais
• March 10 to July 10, 2022
• Information…

Giovanni Boldini

Born in Italy in 1842, Boldini spent most of his career in Paris where he was a close friend of Edgar Degas and Marcel Proust. During his lifetime he enjoyed success as a favorite portraitist of the rich and the famous.

• Petit Palais
• March 29 to July 24, 2022
• Information…

Musée Picasso Exhibitions in 2022

The Musée Picasso is a jewel set in the Marais, set in the historic and grand Hotel Salé. There are over 5,000 works that cover Picasso's paintings, sculptures, engravings, drawings, studies, drafts, notebooks, etchings and letters. If you are a Picasso fan, this is a must-see destination in Paris.

Maya Ruiz – Picasso

The exhibition celebrates nine masterpieces by Picasso — six paintings, two sculptures, and a sketchbook — recently donated to the French national collections by his daughter Maya Ruiz. Born in 1935, Maya is still alive and living in France.

• Musée Picasso
• April, 19 2022 to January 1, 2023
• Information…

Picasso à l'Image

It's simply about Picasso in front of the camera. See art films, archives, and documentaries shot during his lifetime, presenting facets of Picasso's personal and artistic life.

• Musée Picasso
• Ends February 12, 2023
• Information…

Musée de l'Orangerie 2022

Tucked into the Jardin des Tuileries right at the Place de la Concorde, the 1852 stone structure facing the Seine was once the greenhouse that helped to nurture orange trees for the garden. (There's also an orangerie in the Jardin du Luxembourg, and it's still used to store plants during the winter.) Now, it's home to Monet's stellar waterlily murals. But, the Orangerie Museum has more artistic surprises in store, including this year's exhibitions.

David Hockney: A Year in Normandy

Celebrated British painter David Hockney has initiated a new chapter in his artistic journey depicting his house, his garden and the surrounding countryside of Normandy. In the form of a narrative cycle depicting the arrival of spring, this work was created during the Covid lockdown.

• Musée de l'Orangerie
• Ends February 14, 2022
• Information…

Impressionism – At The Source of the Water Lilies

This exhibition explores Impressionism with 80 works by Cassatt, Cézanne, Degas, Manet, Monet, Morisot, Pissarro and Renoir, some never previously shown in France.

• Musée de l'Orangerie
• March 2 to July 11, 2022
• Information…

Sam Szafran

Born in Paris, the son of Polish Jewish immigrants, Szafran (1934-2019) barely survived the Nazi camp of Drancy. In the 1950s he became an abstract artist and discovered his love of pastel. In 1993, he received the Grand Prix des Arts de la Ville de Paris.

• Musée de l'Orangerie
• September 28, 2022 to January 16, 2023
• Information…

Musée Marmottan-Monet

If you love Claude Monet and the Impressionists you won't want to miss Musée Marmottan-Monet in the 16th Arrondissement. (Its name is a clue!) Set at the foot of charming Parc Ranlegh in the posh neighborhood of Passy, this museum contains the largest collection of Monet paintings in the world. Claude's son Michel left his father's art to the state of France at the time of his death in 1966, including the iconic Impression: Sunrise, the painting that gave the movement its name.

The Manet Girl

This is the first exhibition dedicated to Julie Manet (1878-1966), the only daughter of the Impressionist artist Berthe Morisot, and the niece of Impressionist mentor Édouard Manet. One hundred works feature paintings, sculptures, pastels, and watercolors that retrace her life.

• Musée Marmottan-Monet
• Ends March 20, 2022
• Information…

The Theatre of Emotions

Seventy works from public and private collections show perspectives on how emotions are presented in modern European art. See paintings from Courbet to Dali, Picasso to Fautrier.

• Musée Marmottan-Monet
• April 13 to August 21, 2022
• Information…

Facing the Sun

2022 marks the 150th anniversary of Claude Monet's Impression: Soleil Levant (Impression: Sunrise), the centerpiece of Musée Marmottan-Monet's collection. This exhibition will trace the depiction of the sun in art in more than sixty works.

• Musée Marmottan-Monet
• September 14, 2022 to January 29, 2023
• Information…

Musée Carnavalet 2022

After a renovation five years in the making, with a €58 million total budget, Musée Carnavalet reopened just as the 2021 lockdown first eased in Paris. The once-rambling museum of the history of the city of Paris has been modernized under the guiding hand of François Châtillon, chief architect for France's historical monuments.

The whole place has been updated with ramps and lifts and a couple of swooping spiral staircases. Some of the paintings, sculptures, and posters have been lowered so kids can see them as well. New digital displays have also been created. As a City of Paris museum, entrance to the permanent collection is free with a small admission charged for certain temporary exhibitions.

• Musée Carnavalet
• Visit Website for Exhibition Updates…

Marcel Proust – A Parisian Novel

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of novelist Marcel Proust (1871-1922) Musée Carnavalet explores Proust's relationship with Paris, where most of his life took place in an exhibition that, for the first time, examines the place of the city in his work.

• Musée Carnavalet
• Ends April 10, 2022
• Information…

Musée de la Vie Romantique

Once you've spent time at the big museums of Paris, you may want to get off the tourist track to take in one of the most relaxing, charming, and romantic museums in Paris. Visit the website for exhibition updates.

Maison de Victor Hugo

In a 17th-century townhouse on classic Place des Vosges is the Paris home of novelist Victor Hugo, now a museum of his life and work. La Maison has recently been renovated and now sports added space, restored treasures, and new acquisitions. The upgrades also include a tea room and a small garden to relax in. Definitely a treasure among the small museums of Paris. Visit the website for exhibition updates…

Jeu de Paume 2022

It's another one of our favorite spots in Paris and now reopened after a lengthy renovation. Formerly a tennis court for royalty during the reign of Napoleon III, set right on the edge of Jardin des Tuileries, it's now a museum dedicated to photography and modern media art.

Like most things in Paris, it has a long history. In between its time from tennis court to photography museum, Jeu de Paume is where the Nazis stored the art they plundered from France. After the war and until the Musée d'Orsay opened in 1986 it was where the overstock of important Impressionist paintings was kept. In 1991, after a serious renovation, the Jeu de Paume opened as France's first national gallery of contemporary photography.

Marine Hugonnier – Cinema in the Stomach

On the border between documentary and fiction, Marine Hugonnier's work questions the cultural and political framework that conforms our point of view. Marine Hugonnier is a French and British filmmaker, now residing in London.

• Jeu de Paume
• June 8 to September 18, 2022
• Information…

Atelier des Lumières

Opened in 2018, Atelier des Lumières is the first all-digital art museum in Paris. The modern-age cultural center has been created inside a former iron foundry dating back to the early 19th century. Past shows have featured painters like Klimt, van Gogh, Renoir, and Chagall.

Cézanne – The Lights of Provence

Discover Cezanne's inner torment, the power of his compositions, his approach to light and color, and his link to nature, his greatest source of inspiration.

• Atelier des Lumières
• February 18, 2022 to January 2, 2023
• Information…

Kandinsky – The Odyssey of Abstraction

Plunge into the world of Vassily Kandinsky's memories, Russian folklore, and explosive modern art. Kandinsky (1866-1944) is credited with being one of the pioneers of abstraction.

• Atelier des Lumières
• February 18, 2022 to January 2, 2023
• Information…