Best European art exhibitions 2020

Plan your next European mini-break around brilliant art

Van Eyck, An Optical Revolution, Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent

It is thought that only 20 of van Eyck's works survive and over half of those make up the core of this exhibition on this master of the early Renaissance. Accompanying these treasures, are paintings by van Eyck's contemporaries from across Europe. If you are passing through Ghent, this really is an unmissable show.

WHEN

Until 30 April

WHERE

Fernand Scribedreef 1 9000 Gent, Belgium

James Tissot’s Ambiguous Modernity

James Tissot was a society painter par excellence. This exhibition takes a comprehensive look at his life's work, from portraits in Paris to his paintings of mystical and religious subjects.

WHEN

24 March - 19 July 2020

WHERE

Musée d'Orsay, 1 Rue de la Légion d'Honneur, 75007 Paris, France

SHOW OFF. Austrian Fashion Design. Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna

Take a walk through Vienna's idiosyncratic fashion scene from the 1980s to the present day. Expect to discover the designs of names such as Helmut Lang, Schella Kann and new comer Arthur Arbesser.

WHEN

Until July 12, 2020

WHERE

Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna Stubenring 5, 1010 Vienna

Yuan Jai, Centre Pompidou, Paris

Yuan Jai started her career as a museum artwork restorer. She now makes her own large-format works. Her colourful works combine Chinese painting traditions with a cast of intricately painted animals in impossible landscapes.

WHEN

Until 27 April

WHERE

The Centre Pompidou, Place Georges-Pompidou, 75004 Paris, France

Moment in Time: A Legacy of Photographs, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

This exhibition delves into the Bank of America collection of photography, which spans the entire history of the medium. Here you can find works by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eugene Smith, Robert Frank, Dorothea Lange, and many more.

WHEN

Until 22 March

WHERE

National Museum of Ireland