As Paris hosts this year’s Art Basel fair, the city offers a rich slate of complementary exhibitions celebrating film and visual art.

At the Petit Trianon, part of the Palace of Versailles, an exhibition honors Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film “Marie Antoinette,” which marked its 20th anniversary this year. While the movie initially received mixed reviews and a lukewarm reception at the Cannes Film Festival, it has since developed a dedicated following, prompting this retrospective. The exhibition offers insight into the movie’s creation, showcasing Coppola’s mood boards, sketches, preparatory photographs, and the film’s elaborate costumes designed by Oscar-winner Milena Canonero. Visitors can also view replicas of the extravagant wigs, Manolo Blahnik shoes created for the characters, and the royal banquet table as depicted on screen.

Coppola’s film follows the young Austrian princess sent to France to marry the future King Louis XVI, portraying Marie Antoinette as a figure enmeshed in luxury yet isolated and melancholic. The director has expressed that despite initial critical dismissal—some American reviews labeled the movie as superficial “girly fluff”—she valued making a film true to her vision rather than aiming for broad approval. Coppola was drawn to the queen’s youth, having been surprised to learn Marie Antoinette was only 14 at the time of marriage. The film and exhibit explore universal themes through the lens of adolescence and identity, consistent with Coppola’s broader directorial interests in young women’s coming-of-age stories. On industry trends, Coppola noted progress in women’s representation among directors but called for greater female presence in decision-making roles. She also voiced skepticism about artificial intelligence replacing human creativity in art.

Nearby, within the Grand Palais where Art Basel Paris is held, a major exhibition titled “Cézanne and Us” surveys the enduring influence of Paul Cézanne on modern art. Featuring 174 works—including 69 by Cézanne himself alongside pieces by Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and contemporary artists such as Jasper Johns and Wolfgang Tillmans—the exhibit traces how Cézanne’s innovative approach to form and perspective inspired generations of artists from Paris to New York and Moscow. Although relatively unrecognized in his early career, Cézanne’s reputation grew significantly during his lifetime, aided by collectors and promoters like Gauguin and Ambroise Vollard. The show highlights the painter’s role in revitalizing abstraction and shaping the trajectory of 20th-century art.

In a further nod to influential artists, the Gagosian Gallery in Paris is presenting “Lee Krasner: Works from the 1960s,” coinciding with a major retrospective of Krasner and her husband Jackson Pollock at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. This marks Krasner’s first solo exhibition in France, aiming to redress the historical overshadowing of her work by Pollock. Krasner’s prolific 1960s output, including large-scale paintings such as “Seeded” from her “Umber” series, reflects her experimentation during a period marked by insomnia and nocturnal studio practice. Krasner’s deep engagement with French culture is underscored by her 1956 visit to Paris and her later receipt of the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1982.

Together, these exhibitions complement the vibrancy of Art Basel Paris, offering visitors diverse perspectives on artistic legacies and cultural histories.