he Portland Museum of Art’s major summer exhibit is one of distinction not only because of the artists involved but because it is designed in pairs.

“Monet to Matisse, Homer to Hartley: American Masters and their European Muses” explores the rich relationship between European and American artists. The goal of the exhibit is “to provide a better understanding of certain aspects of European art which influenced American artists during the period between 1870 and 1950,” said Carrie Haslett, the PMA’s Joan Whitney Payson curator.

“Between 1870 and 1900 a large number of Americans studied in Paris. Paris was the center of the art world as New York became the center of the art world in 1950. Right now, we have an international art culture,” said Haslett, who did her dissertation thesis on James McNeill Whistler at Bryn Mawr College while studying art history.

“I became interested in research on American artists living in Paris during that period and the Europen influence on them. In this exhibit I wanted to expand my research in that area,” Haslett said.

“I selected artists in the exhibit by thinking of all the major artists in academies and art colonies as well as those studying under other artists during that period and focused on major movements,” she explained. “The show focuses on how American artists were influenced by European artists. I am not trying to show American art as being imitative. I would like people to see that American artists took elements from European art which they found inspiring and then made a style uniquely their own.”

It took Haslett two years to organize the exhibit which showcases about 80 paintings and works on paper by Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Thomas Eakins, Marsden Hartley, Winslow Homer, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, John Singer Sargent and other artists.

European works on the left are paired with American works on the right throughout the exhibit to show emerging artistic styles during that 80-year period that broadly coincides with the rise of Modernist art, starting with French Realism and Impressionism and continuing through to the advent of an international art culture.

This unique exhibit also offers a pleasant surprise: a look at lesser-known artists, including William Bouguereau, Gustave Caillebotte, Eugene Carriere and Frederic Bazille.

The first work I saw was the marvelous masterpiece by Thomas Eakins titled “Swimming,” created in 1885, an oil on canvas depicting nude males swimming and diving off rocks.

The focus on the nude body and the pyramid composition give this artwork a classical feeling. Hung beside it is “Summer Scene,” a painting by Bazille done in 1869 that also depicts males swimming. The surprise is that while Bazille painted an attractive piece in Europe which might have influenced Eakins, Eakins’ work painted in America is better aesthetically in pyramid composition and the subtle use of colors.

“Monet to Matisse, Homer to Hartley: American Masters and their European Muses” demonstrates how American artists were influenced by European artists but developed their own styles, separate and sometimes superior. In this case, Eakins’ work is superior to Bazille’s.

Another pairing – French artist Pierre Renoir’s “Confidences” and American artist Theodore Robinson’s “The Lane” – features works equal in quality. “Confidences” is considered one of Renoir’s finest works. Robinson’s “The Lane” comes very close in terms of technique, shading and brush strokes.

In fact, from a distance the Robinson and Renoir paintings look as though they were created by the same artist. That is a great compliment to Robinson because Renoir has long been hailed as the greater artist.

Looking at their works hung side by side in the PMA exhibit, the viewer gets a chance for closer contemplation of both artists’ skills.

Many of the 80 works are on loan from museums across the nation. However, I was amazed at how many masterpieces are owned by the PMA. For example, French painter Gustave Courbet’s work titled “Temps D’orange A Etretat,” created in 1869, hangs next to Homer’s “Weatherbeaten,” created in 1894. Both oil paintings are owned by the PMA, part of the Joan Whitney Payson Collection. Both depict the sea and are strong, yet each has its own unique style. A slight influence of Courbet’s Impressionist style can be seen in Homer’s work in the short brush strokes on the rocks. But Homer’s realistic style emerges as totally his own – strong and vibrant, much more powerful than Courbet’s even though Courbet is a great artist. Here again, Homer did not copy Courbet. He probably admired some of Courbet’s technique but developed his own distinctive style.

Another work in the exhibit that demands great respect and attention is Cézanne’s “Turn in the Wood,” an oil painting created in 1881. It hangs near Hartley’s “Franconia Notch,” created in 1930. The pairing demonstrates how both artists’ works reflect geometric, flat, forms found in nature.

Experimenting with abstract forms in nature, Cézanne was a strong influence on many artists, including Marguerite Zorach of America who in her own right broke away from traditional views of art. After living in Paris for a time, she became enthralled with Fauvism and boldly experimented with flat surfaces and geometric forms as seen in Brunswick Mills,” a wonderful work created in the 1930s that hangs near Cézanne’s work in the PMA exhibit.

Picasso’s “Man With the Pipe,” created in 1911, is perhaps one of the most important works in the exhibit. It is an excellent example of Cubism, a style emerging in Paris during that period. Hanging on one side of the Picasso piece is an early work by Frank Stella titled “Der Rosenkavalier,” created in 1913. On the other side is a painting titled “Kinsman Falls,” by Hartley, which demonstrates Hartley’s discovery of geometric shapes in nature.

Another of Picasso’s works, titled “Head of a Woman” created in 1934, hangs near Will Barnet’s work titled “Awakening,” an example of Barnet’s experimentation with Cubism. Barnet later developed a distinct style somewhat Oriental and mystical but with flat-edged objects. This pairing clearly demonstrates how artists learn from each other and experiment with techniques before forming their own mature styles.

Matisse’s “La Seance De trois Heurs” and Milton Avery’s “Pitcher Painter” hang together and show how each artist used unconventional flat planes of space and unusual combinations of color as well as geometric patterns in their work.

It isn’t possible to discuss all the wonderful works in this exhibit in one review; but I would like to mention several other interesting pairings: William Merritt Chase’s “Lady with a Parasol” and Whistler’s “Miss Florence Leyland;” Monet’s “Le Printemps a Argenteuile” and Mildred Burrage’s “A November Day;” Frederic Childe Hassam’s “Isles of Shoals” and Monet’s “Cabane des douaniers;” George Braque’s “Nature Morte Aux Poires, Citrons, Et Amandes” and Hartley’s “Still Life;” and Alexander Calder’s mobile hanging in the center gallery and Juan Miro’s “Graphisme Concret.”

“Monet to Matisse, Homer to Hartley: American Masters and their European Muses” runs through Oct. 17. The PMA, located at Seven Congress Square in downtown Portland, is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students with I.D., $2 for children ages 6-17; children under 6 free of charge. The museum is open free of charge Friday between 5 and 9 p.m. For more information, call 775-6148 or visit www.portlandmuseumofart.org.

Pat Davidson Reef has a master’s degree in education and has taught art history at Catherine McAuley High School in Portland. She has written two children’s books, “Dahlov Ipcar, Artist,” and “Bernard Langlais, Sculptor.” She teaches children’s literature for teacher recertification for the American Institute for Creative Education.