Oui, Finally! Journey to Paris. Icons of Modern Art. The Morozov Collection

Updated dates: September 22 until 22 February 2022. The Fondation will open its doors on 22 September 2021 with The Morozov Collection. Icons of Modern Art. Reservations are open, you can now book your visit. I know we are all dying to cross the pond and starving for travel. Scientists say a key to happiness is having something to look forward to, the sheer number of positive emotions we experience relative to negative emotions affects how happy we are generally; for that reason, excitement about future events can be a great source of positive emotions. Studies show that positive anticipation can bring us as much or more pleasure than the actual event itself.

Portrait of Jeanne Samary – Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Paris, always an enticement, is hosting what will be another blockbuster exhibition at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. The exhibition of the Morozov Collection will take over the entire galleries of the Fondation Louis Vuitton, and will present the masterpieces from the collection of the brothers Mikhaïl Abramovitch Morozov (1870-1903) and Ivan Abramovitch Morozov (1871-1921), The great early 20th century Muscovite patrons and collectors assembled one of the most exceptional collections of French modern art including Matisse, Bonnard, Picasso, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, Renoir, Denis, Cézanne, and Russian modern artists Vrubel, Malevich, Repin, Larionov, Serov.

Following the exhibition “Icons of Modern Art. The Shchukin Collection” at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in 2016/2017, “Icons of Modern Art. The Morozov Collection” will be another major historical moment dedicated to key early 20th century Russian collectors. I spent three enchanting hours absorbing the Schukin Collection, several clients visited after my blog posting, and we were able to organize private visits pre-opening hours for a small group.

https://www.gwenbooks.com/2016/12/paris-art-oh-my/

From Russia With Love: The Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, the State Hermitage, the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the State Tretyakov Gallery have joined together with a forthcoming exhibition of masterpieces of early 20th-century Russian and French art from the collection of the outstanding Moscow philanthropists and collectors Mikhail and Ivan Morozov.

Exercising more restraint than Shchukin, the Morozov brothers were highly selective and preferred not to buy in bulk, only purchasing a few of the highest quality artworks on bi-annual trips to Paris. Also devoted to modern French art, Ivan Morozov kept his collection private, allowing only his close family and friends to enjoy the selection. Despite this determined privacy, his will confirmed his intention to release the entire collection to the state after his death. Discovering the joy of French art in 1903, Morozov’s life as a collector began with purchasing the work of young 19th century Russian painters. On his first trip to Paris, Morozov acquired a winter landscape by Alfred Sisley and later returned to purchase another. His passion for the Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist artists quickly expanded beyond Sisley to include works by Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Camille Pissarro. Later, Morozov fell in love with many paintings by Paul Signac, Pierre Bonnard, Matisse, Éduoard Vuillard and Picasso, but it was Cézanne that remained his most favored artist. Morozov’s extensive and beautiful collection of 17 works by Cézanne, showcasing an excellent chronology of Cézanne’s Impressionist and Post-Impressionist career, is undeniably one of the highlights of his entire collection.

Portrait of Ivan Abramovich Morozov
Portrait of Mikhail Abramovich Morozov

In the early 1900s, the Morozov and Shchukin families played a key role in Moscow’s cultural life. It was thanks to their activities that the concept of a “patron of art” appeared. They directly furthered international recognition for contemporary French artists. The collections of contemporary artworks formed by the Morozov brothers and Shchukin are among the finest in the world and are today housed in the museums of Moscow and St Petersburg. The exceptional collection of iconic works of French Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Modernism along with works by artists of the Russian avant-garde will form a unique display unparalleled previously in Paris.

Having spent 1.5 million Francs on French art in eleven years, Ivan Morozov was the proud owner of 278 paintings and 23 sculptures as well as the circa 300 Russian works he also cherished. He spent more on his collection than any other art collector during this period and the relative value of his collection today is almost unfathomable.

The exhibition is organized thanks to the remarkable collaboration of the Russian museums – The State Hermitage Museum, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the Tretyakov State Gallery and will be an exceptional artistic event in Paris and the first time that the Collection is being presented outside of Russia.

A beautiful collection of French and Russian modern art gathered in the early 20th century including many paintings of great masters first exhibited in the summer 2019 at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint-Petersburg before coming to Paris. All in all, about a hundred works and other impressionist and modernist paintings are said to travel to the Fondation Louis Vuitton for a unique display in the heart of the museum.

Mont Sainte-Victoire by Cézanne


This stunning upcoming exhibition marks a new step in the cultural friendship between France and Russia, continuing an institutional partnership started in 2015 by the Fondation Louis Vuitton with the State Hermitage Museum in Saint-Petersburg, the Pushkin Museum and the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Out of this partnership were born several exhibitions, “Les Clefs d’une passion” in 2015 and even “Icônes de l’art moderne. La collection Chtchoukine” in 2016.

Save the date and reserve soon, we are Preferred Partners, Diamond Club Members and Stellar Partners with all of our favorite hotels in Paris! I’ll see you there in November, can’t wait!

www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm2RvsS4IdE Toggle settings for English translation