Paris is known

as the City of Lights, and those fascinated by the city can see how artists

saw it as it became the city it is by visiting the High Museum in Atlanta.

"Paris

in the Age of Impressionism: Masterworks from the Musee D'Orsay"

is on display at the High Museum through March 16.

In the late

19th Century, Paris was filed with an explosion of new ideas in every

aspect of life. There were technical and cultural advancements being made,

and Paris was the center of the art world.

Visitors to

the exhibit can see some works by Manet, Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, Rodin,

Degas, Lautrec and more. The exhibition is divided into seven themes:

Art Nouveau, the Dark Side, the Eiffel Tower, Grand Theaters, High Society,

New Directions and View of the City.

The Art Nouveau

section of the exhibit showcases a style of decoration and architecture

from the 1880s and 1890s. Artists that worked within Art Nouveau were

considered outcasts at the time but the style is still used quite a bit

today. The Dark Side portion of the exhibit illustrates that not everyone

in Paris at the time was benefitting from all of the improvements. There

was crime, prostitution and poverty and some artists chose to portray

this side of society.

The Eiffel

Tower is to Paris what the Statue of Liberty is to New York City. It was

completed in 1889 and is a symbol celebrating the achievements of industry

as well as the arts. This part of the exhibit includes photographs and

illustrations that chronicled the 22 months of construction of the structure.

The Grand Theatres section also has architectural renderings of Charles

Garnier's Opera, one of the most extravagant theatres in the world. The

High Society section is filled with portraits and images that capture

the history of the new wealth of Paris during the middle 1800s.

New Directions

is the largest part of the exhibit and showcases the work of masters such

as Cezanne, Seurat and Gaugin as they broke away from the style of Impressionism

and layed the foundation for modernism. Views of the City illustrates

to the viewer the changes that the city underwent structurally, creating

many of the elements that people know in Paris today. In addition to paintings

"Paris

in the Age of Impressionism" gives visitors a chance to see works

that belong to the second largest museum in Paris, the Musee D'Orsay.

Visitors will also get a chance to see what some of the most famous artists

in the history of the world saw as Paris became the city it is today.

The High Museum

is open Tuesday-Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and admission is $13 for adults

on weekdays and $15 on weekends. Admission for students is $10 on weekdays

and $12 on weekends. Admission for children ages 6-17 is $8 and children

under the age of six will be admitted for free. Advance ticket purchase

is strongly recommended. Phone 404-733-5000 or visit www.ParisinAtlanta.com

or www.high.org.

"Paris

in the Age of Impressionism: Masterworks from the Musee D'Orsay"

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