Paul Durand-Ruel : The Impressionist gamble, Manet,
Monet, Renoir.., Musee du Luxembourg, Paris, until 8th February 2015
The Musee du Luxembourg is hosting one of the most
impressive collections of Impressionist works of art to date by the innovative
art dealer Paul Durand Ruel, (1831-1922). Outside of his work as a flamboyant
gallery owner Durant-Ruel assembled a personal collection of remarkable and
outstanding paintings which he exhibited in his apartment at 35 Rue de Rome in
Paris.
The
show opens with a colourful and masterful painting of one of Durant-Ruel’s sons
by Renoir. Durant-Ruel had five children and was a devoted father and husband
and he commissioned paintings of himself and all of his five children. On the
death of his father in 1865 he took over the gallery and moved it to 16 rue
Laffitte. The first painters he met were Pissarro and Monet and he bought many
of their works. One such painting is Monet’s picture of the Thames at the
bottom of Westminster, which portrays a river scene with a grey, murky river
and yellow tint to the sky. Durant - Ruel took a huge gamble in 1864 and he
bought 23 of Monet’s paintings despite the public ridiculing him; it turned out
to be very profitable for him. One of these is a stunning painting called ‘The
Reader’ which Monet painted in 1876 and which portrays his wife, Camille, seated
on the grass underneath the lilac tree in the garden of their house in
Argenteuil. It is a simplistic, natural scene; we see that she is sheltering
from the sun in a stunning white and pink dress. The portrait is a mixture of
rounded flesh but there is also a doll like quality to her. The real subject of
the painting however is light as we see Monet’s exquisite rendering of the sun
and shade in this bucolic setting. Throughout the show are marvellous Monet
landscapes; we see his famous ‘Effect of the wind’ which was a series of 23
stunning paintings of poplar trees where he is experimenting with changes of
times, geometry and season.
Paul
Durant-Ruel also collected much of the French artist Berthe Morisot, a female
artist who was also a prominent member of the Impressionist circle. One of the
most beautiful paintings in the show in my opinion is Morisot’s, ‘Femme a sa
toilette’ which she finished in 1879. It is a simple yet intimate portrait of
the back of a lady’s head reflected by a mirror in her bathroom and which
reflects her fine necklace and beautiful dress - it is as if we are
voyeuristically entering into her private place. Moving onto Renoir and we see
three of his most famous portraits; the dancers. These large colourful oil
paintings featuring three couples dancing celebrate female beauty and feminine
sensuality whilst also retaining a sense of grandeur and style. Renowned for
his vibrant use of light and colour and for his portraits of people in intimate
and candid settings Renoir was one of the most eminent members of the
Impressionists and one of Ruel’s favourite artists.
Paul
Durant Ruel became a trend setter and the man who fed the appetites of vast
private and public collections in Europe and the United States at the turn of
the 20th century. His great eye and penchant for risk taking made
him a huge player in the artistic world during the early Nineteenth century and
he became a champion of Impressionistic art. It is a great exhibition and very
much worth seeing.
By Larissa Woolf, Arts Editor, Visitmuseums.com
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