A collector in a collector house,
the Morozov at the Fondation Louis Vuitton
The collection, the collectors and the exhibition: story and structure
The exhibition of the Fondation Louis Vuitton titled "The Morozov Collection: Icons of Modern Art" is the follow-up of the Icons of Modern Art series, which already presented the Shchukin (2016) and the Courtauld Collection (2019).
Nonetheless, the collection of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov, trace the history of a new wave of Russian power, culture, social and economic changes. Therefore, the "art of collecting", made in the same branch as the Shchukin was meant to showcase the emergence of European avant-garde art and their influence on, what will become Modern Art. This will be followed by an important art collection and by a donation of the entire collection to the Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery (founded in 1892 by the Tretyakov brothers).
Thus, the Morozov brothers will start to collect well known figures of Impressionist art such as Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse and Paul Gauguin. At the same time, Ivan was completing his chemistry studies in Switzerland and starting his collection of contemporary Russian art. While his brother, Mikhail was renting a mansion in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, and start his acquisitions with the help of a major group of Parisian art dealers.
At this time his brother, Ivan Morozov had a discussion and an encounter with Shchukin. Which will lead him to the studio of the French Artist Henri Matisse to have a look at his latest works and to commission works for his collection.
With this discussion in mind, the collection of the two brothers will not only evolve with "classical" acquisition, but also by standalone piece made especially for them. This will lead the path for the 1907 commission of the decoration of Maurice Denis, titled "L'Histoire de Psyché" and the decorative panel of Pierre Bonnard titled "Les quatre saisons" and "La méditerannée".
As the collection grow, the two brothers had to pay a consultant to grow the collection and to collect what was missing. This role will be filled by Sergei Vinogradov, Konstantin Korovin, and Valentin Serov. They will complete the collection with works by Édouard Manet, Camille Corot, Claude Monet, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Edgar Degas, while opening up to non-French Artist such as Vincent Van Gogh.
The death of a loved one
In 1903, the collection was stopped for a few months due to the death of one of the Morozov brother, Mikhail. His own collection will be made of thirty-nine French works and forty-four Russian ones, which will be donated to the Tretyakov Gallery in 1910, by his wife, Margarita Kirillovna.
Afterward, Ivan Morozov will continue his brother’s project of collecting modern French art, by expanding it as a internationally renown collection with numerous masterpieces. Even tho he continued to manage his textile mills in Tver from Moscow. By juggling his life between Moscow and his textile mills and his trips to the Parisian salon in spring and in autumn, the collection entered into a radical shift, in terms of size, quality and richness.
By giving the chance to non-French artist such as Edvard Munch, which he will buy "Nuit Blanche" in April 1903 at the Salon des indépendants and a beautiful seascape by Akseli Gallen-Kallela titled "River" from 1896.
After a 15 years of collecting, the collection of Ivan Morozov, combine with the one of his brother will be equivalent to 670 oeuvres, consisting of 357 paintings, 31 sculptures and 11 pained vases. All of this will be nationalized with the decree of Lenine on December 19, 1918.
A personal view on this collection :
overrated or undated works of art
Beside the famous Vincent van Gogh painting titled "The Prison Courtyard" from 1890, or the pivotal and immersive triptych of Henri Matisse titled "Moroccan Triptych" from 1912-1913, there are a few pieces that are not exhibited (because you can't show all of this masterpieces due to their conditions) or underrated picture. This is my top 5.
After his first (pink) painting depicting Jeanne Samary, presented in 1877 at the impressionist exhibition, Renoir will depict the same subject, but this time as a full length portrait. Thus, Jeanne Samary was an actress at the Comédie Française and one of the most beautiful figure, portrayed by Auguste Renoir.
This will lead to this portrait, where she stands against a background of red, purple and yellow, probably in a theater foyer. The figure is quite classical for a portrait, but the background is the start of the show, with his softness and his rich colors and decorative aspect. Finalized in 1878, the picture will be exhibited at the Salon of 1879.
Natalia Gontcharova was originally a sculptor, at least when she was accepted by the Moscow Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in the fall of 1901, where she studied with Pavel Trubetskoi. When she finished her studies, the school denied her and she will not get a diploma. Thus, she started to have art classes with Illia Mashkov and Alexander Mikhailovsky, in their studio.
Thus, this picture might be one of the first she made, when she arrived there. Inspired by the cubism style, she started to focus on the shapes and the contrast of the forms, while depicting every day and figurative scene.
The pendant of this painting can be found at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Strasbourg, titled "Basse-Cour" from 1907-1909.
Informations about the exhibition
Place: Fondation Louis Vuitton
Date: 22.9.2021 – 3.4.2022
Curators: Anne Baldassari
Ticket: Available on the website of the Fondation Louis Vuitton OR at the front desk of the museum
Informations about the Fondation Louis Vuitton
Fondation Louis Vuitton
8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi
Bois de Boulogne
75116 Paris