La matière de l'étrange, Jean Carriès (1855-1894)
Until January 27
Jean Carriès died at the age of 39 full of the fierce energy and strange imaginings that informed his blurring of sculpture and objets d’art. The Petit Palais has assembled around 200 of the artist’s most important pieces, from grotesque busts to odd hybrid animals, to his later Japanese-influenced work in sandstone. €4.50-9.
Petit Palais, avenue Winston Churchill, Paris 8. Mº Champs Élysées-Clemenceau. 01 53 43 40 00. www.paris.fr

Lee Bul, “On Every New Shadow”
Until January 27
The Fondation Cartier invited Lee Bul, a South Korean artist who is among the most important in her generation, to create an installation on its ground floor—Bul’s first major exhibition in Paris despite being internationally acclaimed since the late 1980s. The result is 12 cerebral sculptures intricately wrought in crystal and aluminum, at once fragile and impressive. €5.50-7.50.
Fondation Cartier, 261, boulevard Raspail, Paris 14. Mº Raspail. 01 42 18 56 50. www.fondation.cartier.com

Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918)
Until February 3
Considered a leading light of the impressionist movement, the Swiss painter Hodler garnered critical acclaim for his monumental dreamy landscapes and finely rendered portraits. But his subject matter was deemed scandalous by some—his 1890 work The Night was banned in Bern on grounds of indecency. €5.50-7.50.
Musée d’Orsay, 1, rue de la Légion d’Honneur, Paris 7. Mº Solférino. 01 40 49 47 50. www.museedorsay.fr

Until February 4
This exhibition examines the diverse trends in German art at the start of the 20th century, a period of dramatic social and political change. The works of lesser-known artists such as Ludwig Meidner and Conrad Felixmüeller take their place along side paintings and drawings by the likes of Otto Dix and Georges Grosz. €6-8.
Musée Maillol, 59-61 rue de Grenelle, Paris 7. Mº Rue du Bac. 01 42 22 59 58. www.museemaillol.com

Delacroix et les compagnons de sa jeunesse
Until February 25
The Musée Delacroix’s current exhibition centres on the painter’s formulative friendships between 1822 and 1830. A large selection of works by the painter himself are presented in the context of paintings, drawings and sketches by both his masters, Guérin, Gérard and Gros, and contemporaries such as Constable, Géricault and Lawrence. €5.
Musée National Eugène Delacroix, 6 rue de Furstenburg, Paris 6. Mº Saint Germain des Près. 01 44 41 86 50. www.musee-delacroix.fr

Van Dyck graveur, l’art du portrait
February 6 - May 5
The Louvre has brought together a number of Van Dyck’s etchings and sketches from public and private collections. Aside from their aesthetic appeal, these drafts illuminate the evolution of the iconography of the Flemish master’s portraiture and the broader development of symbolism at the end of the 17th century. €6-9.
Musée du Louvre, 99, rue de Rivoli, Paris 1. Mº Palais Royal. 01 40 20 53 17. www.louvre.fr

Guerre et Poste
Until March 10
The Musée de la Poste has gathered over 600 objects and documents, plus 20 original drawings by Jacques Tardi, around the theme of post in wartime France from 1870 to 1945. As well as examining the difficult logistics of running a postal service in such circumstances, the exhibition evokes the fears and hopes of ordinary citizens and soldiers separated by war and linked only by the tenuous thread of mail. €3.50-5.
Musée de la Poste, 34, boulevard de Vaugirard, Paris 15. Mº Montparnasse-Bienvenüe. 01 42 79 24 24. www.museedelaposte.fr

Les Femmes du Monde
Until March 30
Throughout his lengthy wanderings over five continents, former sailor Titouan Lamazou found himself inspired by the women from the different cultures he encountered. “Les Femmes du Monde” is the resulting remarkable collection of sketches, photographs, and paintings. €5-7.
Musée de l’Homme, 17, place du Trocadéro, Paris 16. Mº Trocadéro. 01 40 79 36 00. www.mnhn.fr

Chefs d’oeuvre du Delta du Gange
Until March 31
For the first time outside of Bangladesh, the Musée Guimet is showcasing the country’s rich heritage, including enormous religious statues uncovered in recent decades. Taking advantage of archeological work, which has revealed vestiges civilization dating back as far as the 6th century B.C., the exhibition is able to document and contextualize these diverse cultural artifacts. €5-7.
Musée Guimet, 6, place d’Iéna, Paris 16. Mº Iéna. 01 56 52 53 00. www.museeguimet.fr

La Pub S’Anime
Until April 6
Aficionados of pop culture or nostalgic Parisians can retrace for the first time the development of cartoon advertisements in France, from primitive “optical theatres” at the end of the 19th century, to the sophistication of modern 3D animations. Over 100 films will be screened during the exhibition’s run, alongside archive images, photographs, and interviews with those involved in the industry. €6.50-8.
Musée de la Publicité, 107, rue de Rivoli, Paris 1. Mº Palais Royal. 01 44 55 57 50. www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr

La Méditerranée des Phéniciens
Until April 20
Navigators and skilled traders, the Phoenicians left their mark throughout the Mediterranean. The Institut du Monde Arabe traces the development of these prodigious people over a thousand years via a wealth of artefacts, from anthropoid sarcophaguses to coins and religious statues in metal and stone. €6-10.
Institute du Monde Arabe, 1, rue des Fossés-Saint-Bernard, Paris 5. Mº Jussieu. 01 40 51 39 60. www.imarabe.org

Théâtre, Cinéma, Music-Hall, Ballet
Until January 27
The Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent’s current exhibition switches focus from the designer’s catwalk creations to his lesser-known costumes for stage and screen. Film and fashion buffs can admire the likes of Catherine Deneuve’s Belle de Jour get-up, or the outfit worn by Isabelle Adjani in Subway, shown in film clips, photographs and original sketches. €3-5
Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent, 5, avenue Marceau, Paris 16. Mº Alma Marceau. 01 44 31 64 31. www.ysl-hautecouture.com