Woody Allen's 2011 film Midnight in Paris portrays 1920s avant-garde artists with varying historical accuracy

Woody Allen's 2011 film Midnight in Paris features time-traveling encounters with prominent 1920s Parisian artists. Pablo Picasso appears with a mistress named Adriana, reflecting his real-life multiple affairs and two marriages. Salvador Dalí receives an eccentric portrayal by Adrien Brody, capturing the surrealist's theatrical personality and imaginative works like melting clocks. Henri Matisse, played by Yves-Antoine Spoto, has a marginal role despite his historical significance as Picasso's friend and rival since their 1906 meeting at Gertrude Stein's salon. Man Ray appears briefly, portrayed by Tom Cordier as serious and philosophical, though the film overlooks his innovative rayograph photography technique. The narrative also includes F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Gertrude Stein, with later scenes featuring 19th-century artists like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Edgar Degas, and Paul Gauguin. Allen blends comedy, drama, and romance while exploring artistic personalities, with some depictions exaggerated for entertainment. The film serves as both homage and artistic interpretation of Paris's cultural golden age.