Paris 1900 focuses on the emergence of Paris as the artistic center of Europe at the turn of the 20th century. Emphasis is placed on the Art Nouveau movement, which was at its height in 1900. Key artists considered are Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Alphonse Mucha, and Jules Cheret, whose works drew attention to everything from performances at the Moulin Rouge to new commercial products.

Paris 1900 shows how each artist's work is associated with the inventiveness that made the 1900 Paris Universal Exhibition the high point in the development of Art Nouveau. It also reveals how innovations throughout the arts produced a particularly rich moment in art history.