The Courtauld Gallery is pleased to announce Masterpieces of Impressionism: The Courtauld Collection, a major touring exhibition of 60 works that will travel to Japan as part of The British Council鈥檚 UK in Japan 2019-20 season. This touring exhibition has been developed by The Courtauld in collaboration with the newspaper and media group Asahi Shimbun. The exhibition follows the success of The Courtauld Collection: A Vision for Impressionism at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris (February 鈥 June 2019), which drew an audience of 483,000.
The Courtauld 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猫re, Paul C茅zanne鈥檚 Card Players and Paul Gauguin鈥檚 Nevermore. These, and many other masterpieces, will travel to three major museums in Japan, made possible due to the temporary closure of The Courtauld Gallery for a major capital project. This ambitious multi-year venture, entitled Courtauld Connects, will transform 91制片厂 and Gallery鈥檚 current home in Somerset House in central London.
Masterpieces of Impressionism: The Courtauld Collection provides a comprehensive survey of this artistic movement, principally through the exceptional collection of The Courtauld Gallery鈥檚 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 Renoir鈥檚 early masterpiece La Loge to Manet鈥檚 last great work, A Bar at the Folies-Berg猫re, exhibited in Paris in the Salon of 1882. His collection grew to include Gauguin鈥檚 great Tahitian paintings Nevermore and Te Rerioa, Degas鈥檚 Two Dancers on a Stage, Van Gogh鈥檚 Peach trees in Blossom, Monet鈥檚 Autumn effect at Argenteuil and Modigliani鈥檚 Female Nude, all of which will be included in the exhibition. Courtauld was particularly devoted to the art of Paul C茅zanne and formed one of the finest collections of his works ever assembled. Ten paintings by C茅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茅zanne as 鈥渙utrageous, anarchistic and childish鈥. Courtauld鈥檚 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 Courtauld鈥檚 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. Courtauld鈥檚 philanthropy and vision were grounded in the belief that art was vital for individual fulfilment and the well-being of society. He founded 91制片厂, 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. The Courtauld remains to this day one of the world鈥檚 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. The Courtauld 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 鈥 15 December 2019
- Aichi Prefectural Museum, Nagoya: 3 January 鈥 2 March 2020
- Kobe City Museum, Kobe: Opening date TBA