Paris was one of the major travel destinations of wealthy young men who visited major European sites, in what was called “The Grand Tour,” to complete their classical education. Artists began to depict famous tourist sites for these educated travelers who bought them, much like postcards and photos today, as souvenirs of their sight-seeing trips. The objects shown here range from large-scale city views to less expensive drawings and prints of individual monuments. These were done by master French painters as well as by foreign artists, drawn to the artistic capital.

By the mid-nineteenth century, French artists began experimenting with new styles. They started painting for themselves, rather than for potential buyers, exploring effects of light, atmosphere, shadow, and color, and using a loose brushwork in what is called Impressionism. They also moved away from traditional subjects, such as famous city views, preferring everyday scenes, like those seen here by Louis-Robert Carrier-Belleuse (1848-1913), Alfred Renaudin (1866-1944), and Charles Baron. In the twentieth century, artists such as Jean Hélion (1904-1987) and Yves Brayer (1907-1990) continued to explore the legacy of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, using the ever-changing city as their inspiration.

十八世紀時，巴黎是年青人「壯遊」的其中一個主要目的地（「壯遊」指的是歐洲當時有教養的富家子弟以遊歷名城作為結業旅行的傳統）。不少畫家開始以著名的景點為題材作畫以供這些富家子弟選購，情況就像我們觀光時購買明信片或紀念品一樣。這部分展示的繪畫和水彩畫都屬這一類型，其中大至整個巴黎的全景圖，小至聚焦特定古蹟的印版畫，五花八門，豐儉由人。畫家們或來自法國本土，也有在藝術中心巴黎碰運氣的外地人。

到十九世紀中葉，畫家們漸漸脫離以前為招攬遊客而作畫的思路，而開始為自己藝術的追求而畫巴黎的風光。他們在這些以巴黎為題的繪畫之中探索光影變換、顏色搭配或是氣氛營造等視覺效果。隨著印象派的興起，畫家們採用了以往不曾見的鬆散筆觸；在主題上他們亦擺脫了傳統的框架，他們所繪的不再限於名勝古蹟，熙來攘往的城市生活反而更為他們所青睞。是次展覽中卡里亞貝勒斯（1848-1913）、雷諾丁（1866-1944）和巴漢幾人的作品就是典型的例子。到了二十世紀，像希利昂（1904-1987）和布萊耶（1907-1990）等藝術家沿著印象派和後印象派所開闢的路，仍然由不斷幻化的城市中擷取靈感。