# Sejong Museum of Art: Beyond Impressionism

> Fifty-two paintings from the Detroit Institute of Arts have arrived in Seoul after their showing at Rome's Museo dell'Ara Pacis.

- Author: Sunwoong Joo (주선웅)
- Language: en
- Published: 2026-06-14
- Updated: 2026-11-01
- Canonical: <https://scrapsquare.com/en/article/sejong-beyond-impressionism/>
- Other edition: [KO](https://scrapsquare.com/article/sejong-beyond-impressionism/index.md)

[Beyond Impressionism](https://www.sejongpac.or.kr/portal/performance/performance/performTicket.do?menuNo=200558&performIdx=37023), at the Sejong Museum of Art in central Seoul, brings together European modern paintings from the late nineteenth to the early and mid-twentieth centuries, collected by the Detroit Institute of Arts.
The exhibition moves from Impressionism through Symbolism, Fauvism, Expressionism and Cubism to the School of Paris artists working in the city in the early twentieth century.

**The School of Paris**
The School of Paris, or École de Paris, is a collective name for French and foreign artists who gathered in Paris in the early twentieth century. It refers to neither a single style nor an actual school. The critic André Warnod is known for using the term in 1925 to recognise foreign-born artists as part of modern art in Paris.

## European Modern Art Collected by an American Industrial City

Founded in 1885, the [Detroit Institute of Arts](https://dia.org/about), or DIA, is one of the larger art museums in the United States, with more than 65,000 works.
According to [the DIA's account](https://dia.org/about/blog/detroits-modern-art-home-and-rome), many of the artists represented in this exhibition entered the collection during William Valentiner's directorship, from 1924 to 1945.
Working with Detroit patrons including Edsel Ford, Henry Ford's son, Valentiner helped build the museum's holdings of European modern painting.
For an American public collection in the 1920s and 1930s, embracing this European modernism seems to have been a fairly adventurous choice.

![Carolus-Duran's Merrymakers on display](https://scrapsquare.com/en/article/sejong-beyond-impressionism/sejong-carolus-duran-merrymakers.jpg)


Carolus-Duran, Merrymakers, 1870. [DIA collection](https://dia.org/collection/merrymakers-36227).


![Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Woman in an Armchair on display](https://scrapsquare.com/en/article/sejong-beyond-impressionism/sejong-renoir-woman-armchair.jpg)


Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Woman in an Armchair, 1874. [DIA collection](https://dia.org/collection/woman-armchair-58277).

## Following the Course of Modern Painting

The [Rome exhibition introduction](https://www.turismoroma.it/en/events/impressionism-and-beyond-masterpieces-detroit-institute-arts) and
[the DIA's account of the Rome show](https://dia.org/about/blog/detroits-modern-art-home-and-rome) describe an exhibition tracing the different directions European modern painting took after Impressionism.
Following the Impressionists' interest in light and modern life, Post-Impressionist and early twentieth-century painting gave greater weight to the structure of form, colour's independence, emotional expression and the combination of multiple viewpoints.
Cézanne's mountains and bathers, Van Gogh's landscapes and still lifes, and the works of Matisse and Picasso are presented as part of that progression towards the experiments of early twentieth-century Paris.

![Pablo Picasso's Seated Woman on display](https://scrapsquare.com/en/article/sejong-beyond-impressionism/sejong-picasso-seated-woman.jpg)


Pablo Picasso, Seated Woman, 1960. [DIA collection](https://dia.org/collection/seated-woman-57149).


![María Blanchard's Saxophonist on display](https://scrapsquare.com/en/article/sejong-beyond-impressionism/sejong-blanchard-saxophonist.jpg)


María Blanchard, Saxophonist, c. 1919. [DIA collection](https://dia.org/collection/saxophonist-113742).

## Following the Exhibition on Tour

I often find more enjoyment in looking into these background stories.
Following the sources after my visit, I found what appears to be an earlier touring exhibition of 52 European modern paintings from the DIA, about a decade ago.
The 2016 show at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts has a surviving [PDF checklist](https://www.osaka-art-museum.jp/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/f07ac26c4b2419a8c39c72e5932c5f7d.pdf).
Comparing it with the current Rome and Seoul selection, 41 of the 52 works appear to be the same, with eleven changed.

| Period | City / Venue | Exhibition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| September 2015 - April 2016 | Genoa, Palazzo Ducale | [From the Impressionist to Picasso. Masterpieces from the Detroit Institute of Arts](https://www.mondomostre.it/dagli-impressionisti-a-picasso-i-capolavori-del-detroit-institute-of-arts.html?setlang=en) |
| April - June 2016 | Toyota, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art | [Detroit Institute of Arts Exhibition](https://www.museum.toyota.aichi.jp/exhibition/Detroit-Institute-of-Arts/) |
| July - September 2016 | Osaka, Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts | [Detroit Institute of Arts Exhibition](https://www.artagenda.jp/exhibition/detail/491) |
| October 2016 - January 2017 | Tokyo, The Ueno Royal Museum | [Detroit Institute of Arts Exhibition](https://www.tokyoartbeat.com/en/events/-/2016%2FB3DB) |
| December 2025 - May 2026 | Rome, Museo dell'Ara Pacis | [Impressionism and Beyond: Masterpieces from the Detroit Institute of Arts](https://www.arapacis.it/it/mostra-evento/impressionismo-e-oltre-capolavori-dal-detroit-institute-arts) |
| May - August 2026 | Seoul, Sejong Museum of Art | [Beyond Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Detroit Institute of Arts](https://www.mondomostre.it/beyond-impressionism-masterpieces-from-the-detroit-institute-of-arts.html) |

The exhibition design seems to have travelled too.
The [photographs from Rome](https://dia.org/about/blog/detroits-modern-art-home-and-rome) show strong wall colours and distinct sections; I found a similar use of colour and divisions in Seoul.

## The 52 Works in the 2025-2026 Rome and Seoul Exhibitions

I have not yet found an official checklist for the Seoul exhibition on a public webpage.
I put the list below together from memory and several sources. There may be omissions or works I have misidentified.

| No. | Artist | Work |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Gustave Courbet | [Bather Sleeping by a Brook](https://dia.org/collection/bather-sleeping-brook-41525) |
| 2 | Carolus-Duran | [Merrymakers](https://dia.org/collection/merrymakers-36227) |
| 3 | Henri Gervex | [Café Scene in Paris](https://dia.org/collection/caf%C3%A9-scene-paris-45816) |
| 4 | Édouard Manet | [On the Beach](https://dia.org/collection/beach-53295) |
| 5 | Pierre-Auguste Renoir | [Woman in an Armchair](https://dia.org/collection/woman-armchair-58277) |
| 6 | Edgar Degas | [Dancers in the Green Room](https://dia.org/collection/dancers-green-room-42273) |
| 7 | Edgar Degas | [Morning Ride](https://dia.org/collection/morning-ride-42266) |
| 8 | Edgar Degas | [Jockeys on Horseback before Distant Hills](https://dia.org/collection/jockeys-horseback-distant-hills-87627) |
| 9 | Edgar Degas | [Woman with a Bandage](https://dia.org/collection/woman-bandage-42267) |
| 10 | Edgar Degas | [Portrait of a Woman](https://dia.org/collection/portrait-woman-42272) |
| 11 | Paul Cézanne | [Head of a Man](https://dia.org/collection/head-man-36714) |
| 12 | Paul Cézanne | [Five Bathers](https://dia.org/collection/five-bathers-36716) |
| 13 | Paul Cézanne | [Mont Sainte-Victoire](https://dia.org/collection/mont-sainte-victoire-36720) |
| 14 | Camille Pissarro | [The Path](https://dia.org/collection/path-57297) |
| 15 | Alfred Sisley | [Church at Moret after the Rain](https://dia.org/collection/church-moret-after-rain-61536) |
| 16 | Max Liebermann | [Park Scene with Trees and Figure](https://dia.org/collection/park-scene-trees-and-figure-52738) |
| 17 | Pierre-Auguste Renoir | [Seated Bather](https://dia.org/collection/seated-bather-58283) |
| 18 | Pierre-Auguste Renoir | [The White Pierrot](https://dia.org/collection/white-pierrot-58285) |
| 19 | Vincent van Gogh | [Vase with Carnations](https://dia.org/collection/vase-carnations-46069) |
| 20 | Vincent van Gogh | [Bank of the Oise at Auvers](https://dia.org/collection/bank-oise-auvers-46068) |
| 21 | Odilon Redon | [Evocation of Butterflies](https://dia.org/collection/evocation-butterflies-58110) |
| 22 | Maurice Denis | [La Dépêche de Toulouse](https://dia.org/collection/la-dep%C3%AAche-de-toulouse-42390) |
| 23 | Félix Vallotton | [Standing Nude Holding Gown on Her Knee](https://dia.org/collection/standing-nude-holding-gown-her-knee-64014) |
| 24 | Pierre Bonnard | [Woman with Dog](https://dia.org/collection/woman-dog-35097) |
| 25 | Georges Rouault | [The Clown](https://dia.org/collection/clown-59921) |
| 26 | Chaïm Soutine | [Red Gladioli](https://dia.org/collection/red-gladioli-61991) |
| 27 | Amedeo Modigliani | [Young Man with a Cap](https://dia.org/collection/young-man-cap-54777) |
| 28 | Amedeo Modigliani | [A Man](https://dia.org/collection/man-54776) |
| 29 | Amedeo Modigliani | [A Woman](https://dia.org/collection/woman-54775) |
| 30 | Raoul Dufy | [Still Life](https://dia.org/collection/still-life-42940) |
| 31 | María Blanchard | [Saxophonist](https://dia.org/collection/saxophonist-113742) |
| 32 | Juan Gris | [Still Life](https://dia.org/collection/still-life-47166) |
| 33 | Pablo Picasso | [Head of a Harlequin](https://dia.org/collection/head-harlequin-57088) |
| 34 | Pablo Picasso | [Portrait of Manuel Pallares](https://dia.org/collection/portrait-manuel-pallares-57102) |
| 35 | Pablo Picasso | [Bottle of Anis del Mono](https://dia.org/collection/bottle-anis-del-mono-57104) |
| 36 | Pablo Picasso | [Woman Seated in an Armchair](https://dia.org/collection/woman-seated-armchair-57111) |
| 37 | Pablo Picasso | [Girl Reading](https://dia.org/collection/girl-reading-95101) |
| 38 | Pablo Picasso | [Seated Woman](https://dia.org/collection/seated-woman-57149) |
| 39 | Henri Matisse | [The Window](https://dia.org/collection/window-53668) |
| 40 | Henri Matisse | [Coffee](https://dia.org/collection/coffee-53667) |
| 41 | Henri Matisse | [Poppies](https://dia.org/collection/poppies-53671) |
| 42 | Max Pechstein | [Under the Trees](https://dia.org/collection/under-trees-56684) |
| 43 | Wassily Kandinsky | [Study for Painting with White Form](https://dia.org/collection/study-painting-white-form-50371) |
| 44 | Lyonel Feininger | [Sidewheeler II](https://dia.org/collection/sidewheeler-ii-44832) |
| 45 | Erich Heckel | [Woman](https://dia.org/collection/woman-47701) |
| 46 | Karl Schmidt-Rottluff | [Evening by the Sea](https://dia.org/collection/evening-sea-60688) |
| 47 | Karl Schmidt-Rottluff | [Still Life, Cactus](https://dia.org/collection/still-life-cactus-60679) |
| 48 | Emil Nolde | [Sunflowers](https://dia.org/collection/sunflowers-55795) |
| 49 | Oskar Kokoschka | [Girl with Doll](https://dia.org/collection/girl-doll-51108) |
| 50 | Oskar Kokoschka | [View of Jerusalem](https://dia.org/collection/view-jerusalem-51111) |
| 51 | Max Beckmann | [Still Life with Fallen Candles](https://dia.org/collection/still-life-fallen-candles-34271) |
| 52 | Max Beckmann | [Self-Portrait in Olive and Brown](https://dia.org/collection/self-portrait-olive-and-brown-34272) |

**Parking and Access**
The Sejong Center for the Performing Arts [does not operate its own car park](https://www.sejongpac.or.kr/portal/main/contents.do?menuNo=200391).
Visitors can instead receive a discount at the [Sejong-ro public car park](https://www.sisul.or.kr/open_content/parking/bbs/bbsMsgDetail.do?bcd=parking&msg_seq=20), run by Seoul Facilities Corporation.
It is close enough to feature in the centre's [directions to the venue](https://www.sejongpac.or.kr/portal/main/contents.do?menuNo=200392), but the notice says vehicles 1.8 metres or taller cannot enter.
Some taller SUVs, such as the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, may need to park elsewhere.

Together with [Collectors of Light](https://scrapsquare.com/en/article/lehman-impressionism/) at the National Museum of Korea, centred on the Met's Robert Lehman Collection,
and the Cubist works in the recent opening exhibition at [Centre Pompidou Hanwha](https://scrapsquare.com/en/article/pompidou-seoul-cubists/), this has been a rather good run of exhibitions.
Under well-judged lighting, there are moments when an Impressionist painting seems to come alive, almost as though the image were on a luminous display.
Starting with that sense of light and colour, the exhibition lets me follow a gradual shift towards something more elusive, increasingly overlapping with the world of modern visual design.

**Where:** Sejong Museum of Art 1 and 2, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, Seoul

**Exhibition:** Beyond Impressionism  
28 May - 23 August 2026

**Hours:** Daily, 10:00-19:00; no closing days

**Ticket:** Standard adult admission: KRW 23,000 (about US$17)

The dollar equivalent uses [the Federal Reserve's 23 October 2026 rate](https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10/20261026/) of KRW 1,325.06 to US$1, as a guide to scale.