ABU DHABI: Louvre Abu Dhabi opens the Middle East’s largest exhibition of Impressionist masterpieces in time for the United Arab Emirates Museum’s fifth anniversary.
Running until February 5, 2023, Impressionism: The Road to Modernity features over 100 works by pioneers of Impressionism, including Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot and Gustave Caillebotte. It features paintings and etchings of
Known for its lightness, ephemeral nature, and slow brushstrokes, Impressionism began in the 1870s as Paris was undergoing modernization and social change. This revolutionary art movement continues to be widely admired to this day.
“When you face an Impressionist painting, it feels really fresh,” Stéphane Guégan, the exhibition’s co-curator, told Arab News. “It’s the result of something very direct, very spontaneous . . . the feeling of seeing through the eyes of a painter.”
But at the time, the Impressionists, who had their first show in 1874, were considered radicals. They departed from the confines of acclaimed classical art and, as a result, were harshly criticized by some press and critics.
“It was controversial… there were people who were skeptical and even criticized this kind of painting,” Ghegan said. “Paintings were considered unfinished, like sketches.”
“In a way, to summarize the negative reaction to the Impressionists’ first exhibition, they felt that the painters tried to deceive visitors and amateurs at the time,” he continued.
In some respects, the Impressionists acted as social commentators through vibrant painting. Their work is diverse, depicting sophisticated train stations and bridges, rural social settings, elegantly dressed women, and elegant interiors.
“France and Europe have become very modern societies, and painters have responded to this situation by changing the subject matter of their paintings and the way they represent the outside world,” said Guéguin.
Besides exploring themes depicting urbanization and nature, the show also brings fashion into photography, showcasing five costumes from the late 1800s. “There is a connection between fashion and contemporary painting, as both sought to address the ephemeral side of modernity,” says Ghegan.
This French-Emirati cultural event was realized in part through an extraordinary collaboration with the renowned Musée d’Orsay in Paris, lending a significant number of its paintings to the Arab world for the first time.
Highlights include Manet’s ‘Balcony’, Morisot’s ‘Cradle’ and Monet’s iconic depiction of London’s Houses of Parliament, known as the ‘Father of Impressionism’.
“We wanted to put together this incredible series of masterpieces because we wanted to give visitors from Abu Dhabi and other regions the chance to see them,” said Gueghan. “It’s never a waste to see a masterpiece.”
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