International Paris

Paris's cultural magnetism attracted artists worldwide. The American painter James McNeill Whistler brought his aesthetic theories and legendary wit. The Spanish Pablo Picasso arrived in 1900, absorbing influences that would lead to Cubism. The Italian Amedeo Modigliani found inspiration and destruction in Montmartre's studios and cafés.

This international community created unprecedented cultural exchange. The Japanese artist Foujita blended Eastern and Western techniques. The Polish poet Guillaume Apollinaire (Wilhelm Kostrowicki) became French literature's great innovator. The Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuși stripped form to its essence, creating modernism from ancient inspirations.

Women artists found Paris more welcoming than their homelands, though barriers remained. The Russian Marie Bashkirtseff wrote: "In Paris, they merely condescend to women artists. Elsewhere, they forbid us entirely. Progress, I suppose." The Finnish painter Helene Schjerfbeck, the Mexican Angelina Beloff, the American Romaine Brooks—all found in Paris space to develop their art, even if recognition came slowly.