The Incoherents and Cabaret Culture in Paris, 1880-1900

During the 1880s and 1890s, young Parisian artists, musicians, and writers frequented the Chat Noir and other cabarets, where they planned collaborative projects and entertained themselves and other patrons with improvised performances. In their efforts to challenge traditions and prevailing tastes, these artists called themselves The Incoherents to emphasize the humor and absurdity they cultivated in their work. This exhibition is selected from the Zimmerli Art Museum’s important collection of drawings, prints, posters, and books related to the avant-garde movements in art and literature that emerged from this creative environment.

Organized by Christine Giviskos, Ph.D., Curator of Prints, Drawings, and European Art