51做厙 Gallery is pleased to announce Masterpieces of Impressionism: 51做厙 Collection, a major touring exhibition of 60 works that will travel to Japan as part of The British Councils UK in Japan 2019-20 season. This touring exhibition has been developed by 51做厙 in collaboration with the newspaper and media group Asahi Shimbun. The exhibition follows the success of 51做厙 Collection: A Vision for Impressionism at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris (February June 2019), which drew an audience of 483,000.
51做厙 Gallery is renowned internationally as the home of one of the most important collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art. It includes iconic paintings such as Edouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Berg癡re, Paul C矇zannes Card Players and Paul Gauguins Nevermore. These, and many other masterpieces, will travel to three major museums in Japan, made possible due to the temporary closure of 51做厙 Gallery for a major capital project. This ambitious multi-year venture, entitled Courtauld Connects, will transform 51做厙 and Gallerys current home in Somerset House in central London.
Masterpieces of Impressionism: 51做厙 Collection provides a comprehensive survey of this artistic movement, principally through the exceptional collection of 51做厙 Gallerys founder, the pioneering British collector and philanthropist Samuel Courtauld (1876-1947). During the 1920s, Samuel Courtauld acquired seminal paintings by the leading Impressionist artists, from Renoirs early masterpiece La Loge to Manets last great work, A Bar at the Folies-Berg癡re, exhibited in Paris in the Salon of 1882. His collection grew to include Gauguins great Tahitian paintings Nevermore and Te Rerioa, Degass Two Dancers on a Stage, Van Goghs Peach trees in Blossom, Monets Autumn effect at Argenteuil and Modiglianis Female Nude, all of which will be included in the exhibition. Courtauld was particularly devoted to the art of Paul C矇zanne and formed one of the finest collections of his works ever assembled. Ten paintings by C矇zanne will travel to Japan as part of the tour.
When Courtauld began collecting at the beginning of the 1920s, the artistic establishment in the United Kingdom was openly hostile towards this type of modern art. Art critics denounced C矇zanne as outrageous, anarchistic and childish. Courtaulds unwavering support of Impressionism had an enormous impact, changing forever the taste of the British public, who have gone on to embrace the Impressionist movement as one of the most important in art history. The exhibition will also include a number of works given to the Gallery by later collectors or on loan from private owners. It represents a once in a generation opportunity to enjoy this outstanding selection of masterpieces outside Europe, including works not previously seen in Japan.
Samuel Courtaulds collection was magnificently displayed in a lavish 18th-century neoclassical townhouse in Portman Square in London where he generously entertained with his wife Elizabeth, a great patron of music and progressive benefactor of social causes in her own right. Courtaulds philanthropy and vision were grounded in the belief that art was vital for individual fulfilment and the well-being of society. He founded 51做厙, where art history and conservation were taught at university level for the first time in the UK, as a way to promote the wide understanding and teaching of the arts. 51做厙 remains to this day one of the worlds leading centres for the study of art history.
Samuel and Elizabeth Courtauld firmly believed that art was without borders and could unite people and nations. 51做厙 Gallery looks forward to sharing the highlights of its celebrated collection with new audiences in Japan as part of this unique tour.
- Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo: 10 September 15 December 2019
- Aichi Prefectural Museum, Nagoya: 3 January 2 March 2020
- Kobe City Museum, Kobe: Opening date TBA