SLP98120101 - 01 DECEMBER 1998- ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, USA: This protrait painting of N.M. Zeretelli in 1927, is just one of the paintings that will be seen at the St. Louis Art Museum during a special exhibition, scheduled for February 6-May 9, 1999. Beckman and Paris, a special exhibition organized by the St. Louis Art Museum and the Kunsthaus Zurich, brings together for the first time nearly 100 paintings by Max Beckmann, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Fernand Leger, Georges Rouault and Robert Delaunay. The exhibition re-evaluates the traditional image of Beckmann as a quintessential German artist by looking to his time in Paris during the 1920's and '30s and by juxtaposing many of his masterpieces with major paintings by his Paris contemporaries. These juxtapositions evoke striking comparisons in theme and style and present a new, surprising view of Beckmann. bg/HO UPI