Louis Vuitton Foundation gallery to exhibit paintings by Picasso, Van Gogh and more
Years have passed since the revolution and now we get to see works from master painters, that once belonged to the world’s greatest private collection
Paris is the hub for fashion and art so it comes as no surprise that the Louis Vuitton Foundation gallery is in the news for its latest project. Following one hit show with another is certainly the way to go. Coming in 2020 — which is closer than you would think — the gallery will be hosting a little over 200 art works from early 20th century masters.
Coming from one of the world’s greatest private collection of modern art, they were once owned by Russian industrialists Mikhail and Ivan Morozov. Having been seized by the Soviet state after the revolution, the paintings are now in the possession of the Russian authorities. The upcoming exhibition is the result of several years of negotiations between French fashion tycoon Bernard Arnault who paid for the gallery and Russian authorities.
In a first outside of Russia, the exhibition includes paintings from names such as Picasso, Bonnard, Maurice Dennis and Derain. Well before the Russian revolution, the industrialists acquired an impressive amount of paintings that consist of Van Gogh, Cezanne, Renoir and Monet’s. Jean-Paul Claverie, art advisor to LVMH boss Arnault, the head of the Louis Vuitton Foundation, said the Morozov’s’ art has never been shown together on such a scale anywhere since it was seized.
In October 2016, the foundation played host to a similar exhibition called “Icons of Modern Art”. Drawing in 1.2 million people, the equally eye-catching collection from Sergei Shchukin who was Morozov’s great rival. “The Morozovs and the Shchukins… dominated Moscow‘s cultural life at the beginning of the 20th century, and helped contribute to the international recognition of French model painters,” the foundation said in a statement.