Dolls, Pierrot, and Silence: The Must-See Art Exhibitions of February 2025

As winter settles in, the world’s museums unveil some of their most stirring, imaginative, and thought-provoking exhibitions. February is full of contrasts: theatrical melancholy in Paris, vibrant reflections on Brazilian modernism in London, mystical dreamscapes in New England, and the haunting stillness of dolls and interiors in Vienna. This month’s art scene is rich with stories waiting to be discovered.

Here are the exhibitions we believe you will not want to miss.

 

France
A New Look at Watteau

Musée du Louvre, Paris. October 16, 2024 – February 3, 2025

A fresh perspective on Rococo master Antoine Watteau, re-examining the elegance and theatrical figures. At the heart of the exhibition is Watteau’s enigmatic painting Pierrot, also known as Gilles, which has captivated viewers for centuries. This monumental work portrays the melancholic figure of Pierrot, standing isolated among his fellow commedia dell’arte characters. The recent restoration has unveiled subtle details and nuances, allowing visitors to appreciate the depth and complexity of this masterpiece.

Degenerate Art: The Trial of Modern Art under Nazism

Musée Picasso, Paris. February 20 – September 29, 2025

Presented in collaboration with institutions in Germany, this powerful exhibition examines how the Nazi regime labeled modernist art as “degenerate,” highlighting the artists and movements condemned, and the resilience of their legacy. It includes iconic works once hidden, damaged, or censored, offering a compelling look at how creativity endures even under threat.

Italy
The Renaissance in Brescia: Moretto, Romanino, Savoldo, 1512–1552

Museo di Santa Giulia, Brescia. February 2 – June 30, 2025

A grand survey of Brescian Renaissance painting, highlighting a generation of artists who captured a city in transition. Moretto’s calm piety, Romanino’s dramatic contrasts, and Savoldo’s dreamlike light come together to reveal the richness of Brescia’s artistic legacy.

The Farnese in 16th-Century Rome

Musei Capitolini, Rome. Until April 21, 2025

This exhibition explores the political and artistic ambitions of the Farnese family in Renaissance Rome. With paintings, sculpture, and archival material, it paints a vivid portrait of one of Italy’s most powerful dynasties.

Spain
Tarsila do Amaral: Painting Modern Brazil

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao. February 21 – June 1, 2025

A major retrospective of Tarsila do Amaral, a central figure in Brazilian modernism and a driving force behind the country’s cultural identity in the early 20th century. The exhibition traces her artistic evolution from early Parisian influences to the development of a bold, uniquely Brazilian visual language rooted in folklore, popular culture, and national landscapes.

While her most iconic work Abaporu is not on display, the exhibition dives deeply into the Anthropophagic phase of her career. Inspired by her collaboration with poet Oswald de Andrade, this movement embraced the metaphor of cultural “cannibalism” – digesting and transforming European art traditions into something distinctly Brazilian. Tarsila’s paintings from this period, rich in color and symbolism, reflect a country reimagining itself through modern art.

Gabriele Münter: The Great Expressionist Woman Painter

Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. Until February 9, 2025

This vibrant retrospective presents over 100 works by Gabriele Münter (1877–1962), a trailblazer of German Expressionism and a founding member of the Blaue Reiter movement.
She was not only a student but also the long-time partner and muse of Wassily Kandinsky – a relationship that deeply shaped both their artistic journeys. The exhibition highlights Münter’s bold use of color, simplified forms, and emotional clarity, finally giving full attention to a painter whose influence on modern art is only now being fully recognized.

Ireland

Ludovico Mazzolino: The Crossing of the Red Sea

National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. February 15 – July 6, 2025

A whole exhibition devoted to just one painting? Yes, and for good reason.
This dramatic work by Ludovico Mazzolino, painted around 1521, is a marvel of Renaissance detail and visual storytelling. Packed with intricate figures, turbulent waves, and golden light, it captures the biblical miracle with both theatrical flair and astonishing precision. The painting has not been seen publicly in decades, and its recent restoration has revealed dazzling colors and hidden details long obscured by time.

The show invites viewers to slow down, look closely, and rediscover the power of a single masterpiece to hold an entire world.
Just look at these 50 shades of white!

United Kingdom
Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism

Royal Academy of Arts, London. January 26 – April 21, 2025

Tired of winter greys? Then this is the place for you.
This exhibition explores the emergence of modernism in Brazil, featuring works that reflect the country’s unique cultural identity and artistic innovation. It traces how artists blended European influences with local narratives, popular culture, and spiritual imagery to forge a new visual language rooted in place and resistance.

Anselm Kiefer: Early Works

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. February 14 – June 15, 2025

A landmark exhibition showcasing early artworks by Anselm Kiefer, including paintings, watercolors, artist books, and woodcuts, many rarely displayed in the UK. The works reflect his grappling with postwar German identity and the burden of memory in poetic, textured form.

Austria

Rudolf Wacker: Magic and Abysses of Reality

Editor’s Pick 

Leopold Museum, Vienna. Until February 16, 2025

This is the exhibition our team holds closest this month.

Rudolf Wacker (1893–1939) is considered one of the key founders of magical realism in painting. His artworks are quietly unsettling: serene interiors, precisely rendered still lifes, and portraits that carry a mysterious psychological tension. Among his most enigmatic subjects are dolls and mannequins, arranged like silent witnesses in domestic spaces. These painted figures, neither alive nor lifeless, seem to reflect the psychological unease of interwar Europe and the artist’s inner world. He was among Austria’s most significant voices within the European New Objectivity movement

Wacker’s life was marked by trauma. During World War I, he served in the German army and was later captured by the Russians, spending five years in labor camps. Later, under the Nazi regime, he was targeted by the Gestapo. During one of the interrogations, he suffered a fatal heart attack.

The exhibition brings together nearly 200 works – paintings, drawings, and diaries, offering a rare chance to experience the beauty, fragility, and quiet resistance in Wacker’s world. A deeply human and profoundly moving show.

United States
Leonora Carrington: Dream Weaver

Rose Art Museum, Waltham, MA. January 22 – June 1, 2025

The centenary of Surrealism continues to unfold across the globe with a wave of exhibitions, and this one is a highlight. Dream Weaver is the first museum exhibition in New England dedicated to Leonora Carrington, one of the most enigmatic and visionary figures of the movement.
Featuring over thirty works spanning six decades, the show brings together paintings, drawings, and writings that explore mythology, magic, feminism, and the subconscious. Carrington’s surrealism is deeply personal and fiercely symbolic, less about shock and more about transformation.

Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. February 8 – May 11, 2025

This landmark exhibition marks the first major retrospective of Caspar David Friedrich in the United States, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the German Romantic painter’s birth. Following acclaimed presentations in Hamburg, Berlin, and Dresden, the exhibition brings together over 75 paintings and works on paper, many of which have never been seen in the U.S. Highlights include iconic masterpieces such as Wanderer above the Sea of Fog and Monk by the Sea, offering American audiences a rare opportunity to experience Friedrich’s profound exploration of nature and the human spirit.

Cannot make it to Austria for a day trip? Do not worry. We bring the exhibitions to you. Browse our growing collection of museum catalogs from around the world and bring a piece of art history into your home – no passport required.