At a glance
A dense exploration of Kurt Schwitters’ "Merz" philosophy, transforming urban debris and everyday scraps into a totalizing vision of avant-garde art across three decades.
Why go
This is the first major retrospective of the German artist in France for over thirty years, bringing together 300 works to show how Schwitters rebuilt a world from the wreckage of two wars.
You'll see
Dadaist collages · "Merz" assemblages · Sculptural structures · Avant-garde typography · Archival notebooks and documents
Pace of visit
The show is dense with small-scale collages and archival papers that require close reading and a slower pace.
Don't miss
The dialogue between Schwitters’ debris-based assemblages and Picasso’s own pioneering experiments with found materials and everyday objects.
Artlovers Tip
Look closely at the specific textures of the individual scraps in the collages—the ephemeral nature of the materials provides a poignant contrast to the precision of their arrangement.
Inside the exhibition
Meet the artist
Description
Kurt Schwitters. Le chaos-monde. 1918-1948 at the Musée national Picasso-Paris brings a comprehensive look at the German pioneer’s radical output to the heart of the Marais. The exhibition gathers over 300 works and documents, charting a career that refused to be contained by a single movement, moving from the Dadaist spirit of the 1920s to his final years in exile.
The presentation features his signature Merz assemblages—compositions built from bus tickets, wood scraps, and discarded paper—alongside paintings, sculptures, and experiments in typography. Rather than a linear timeline, the rooms connect different media, showing how recurring motifs and structural ideas traveled between his small-scale collages and larger spatial interventions.
By placing Schwitters within the context of the Picasso museum, the show highlights shared instincts for transforming the mundane into the monumental. It offers a rare opportunity to see the breadth of an artist who viewed chaos not as a dead end, but as a fertile ground for reinventing the modern world.
Worth travelling for?
A rigorous and rewarding retrospective for visitors who appreciate the tactile, gritty side of the avant-garde and the history of the readymade.
Experience as an Artlover
The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM. Admission includes access to all temporary exhibitions and the permanent collection; booking a time slot online is recommended.
Kurt Schwitters. Le chaos-monde. 1918-1948
Artlovers relevance
Plan your visit
Hours & rating from Google
