Dessins sans limite: an exhibition of drawings from the Centre Pompidou at the Grand Palais

The Centre Pompidou may be closed for renovations, but that doesn’t mean its collections can’t live and be seen by the public. The famous Parisian museum is unveiling part of its drawing collection in an exhibition at the Grand Palais from December 16, 2025 to March 15, 2026.

The exhibition Dessins sans limite – Chefs-d’œuvre de la collection de dessins du Centre Pompidou highlights nearly 400 drawings and graphic works dating from 1900 to the present day. More than a century ofmodern and contemporary art, brought together in a journey rich in surprises and discoveries.

Drawing is an artistic technique widely used by creators, whether for research and experimentation, for work towards a larger or more accomplished work, or simply for the love of the medium. The Centre Pompidou ‘s vast collections show that artists like to use drawing to push back the boundaries of art, to transgress the rules. New generations of artists are also reappropriating this medium, finding in it a strength and poetry all their own.

The exhibition at the Grand Palais offers an overview of modern and contemporary drawing, and the range of possibilities that a blank sheet of paper, a notebook or a wall can offer an artist. The major artistic movements stand out as the exhibition progresses through the decades: covering more than a century of art, this exhibition also highlights the evolution of practices and thinking.

The Centre Pompidou unveils some of its most important collections, including drawings by Paul Klee, Vassily Kandinsky, Roland Barthes, Marc Chagall, Willem de Kooning, Sonia Delaunay, Jean Dubuffet, Giuseppe Penone, Henri Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kiki Smith…. In all, 120 artists are represented on this tour.

A not-to-be-missed exhibition this winter, for an unrestrained plunge into modern and contemporary art.