Dessins sans limite : chefs-d’œuvre de la collection du Centre Pompidou

Exhibition at the Grand Palais, Paris, 16 December 2025 – 15 March 2026

Exceptional in its richness and diversity, the Centre Pompidou's graphic art collection is one of the world's most important collections of works on paper from the 20th and 21st centuries. Many artists have embraced this original and cathartic mode of expression to transgress the boundaries of art. Beyond the traditional sheet of paper or sketchbook, its domain extends to other media. Drawing has taken over walls and installations and is opening up to other practices: photography, film and digital media. The renewed interest of younger generations of artists testifies to the great relevance of this simple and accessible medium.

With more than 300 works by 120 artists, this catalogue of the first exhibition devoted to this collection showcases an art of drawing that is constantly being reinvented, allowing us to understand how this medium was completely reinvented in the 20th century. It highlights major pieces from the collection that are rarely shown, including works by Balthus, Marc Chagall, Willem de Kooning, Sonia Delaunay, Jean Dubuffet, George Grosz, Vassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Fernand Léger, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Karel Appel, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Roland Barthes, Robert Breer, Trisha Brown, Marlène Dumas, William Kentridge, Robert Longo, Giuseppe Penone, Robert Rauschenberg, Kiki Smith and Antoni Tàpies.