Impressionist masterpieces for the masses
French Impressionism, despite its frequent shows in the city, always attracts crowds.
"From Monet, Bonnard to Matisse – Masterpieces of Modern French Painting from Bemberg Foundation" is currently running at Bund One Art Museum.
Visitors will be thrilled to find nearly all the great French Impressionist names at the exhibition, such as Eugène Boudin (1824-98), Claude Monet (1840-1926), Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) and Paul Signac (1863-1935).
There are also works by the leading figures of Fauvism, a short-lived movement branched off from post-impressionism, like Henri Matisse (1869-1954), Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1958) and Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), plus Edouard Vuillardw (1868-1940) – a prominent member of the Nabis group, who played a large part in the transition from impressionism and academic art to abstract art, symbolism and the other early movements of modernism.
All of the works on display are on loan from the Bemberg Foundation, a French private non-profit institution.
Divided into several sections including the Nabis, Fauvism, Impressionism and Outdoor Painting, Pierre Bonnard and Mediterranean Landscape, the exhibition guarantees several hours of "quality time" to appreciate these masterpieces.
Paul Gauguin's "Young Farmer." The painting belongs to Gauguin's rare middle and late portrait works, featuring a unique decorative style.
A highlight of the exhibition is the Fauvism section.
The name "fauves," meaning wild beasts, expresses the natural, lively, spontaneous and almost wild aspect of the use of colors.
This concept was taken further by Gauguin. During his trip to Tahiti, he discovered the beauty of the country and its colors. Seeking to express the explosion and intensity of these magical tints and lights that he observed, he veered toward simplified drawing.
Fauve painters pushed forward on the path carved by Gauguin and took it further. Fauvism works paved the way for abstraction of images, eventually culminating in abstract art.
The main characteristics of Fauvist paintings can be seen in masterpieces by Gauguin, Matisse and de Vlaminck.
The artworks are easily recognizable thanks to the use of brilliant hues on large surfaces. Their paintings start transforming from classical images to abstract lines and exaggerated colors.
Compared to Monet and Matisse, Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) might be less familiar to local art patrons, but the section dedicated to Bonnard best reflects the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of colors.
In 1889, Bonnard enrolled in art courses at the Academie Julian in Paris where he met Maurice Denis and Paul-Elie Ranson. The three co-founded the Nabis Group in the same year, who declared themselves as the "Gauguin followers."
The new doctrine pleaded for the preservation of only what was essential in design, replacing images with symbols. In order to achieve this, only pure colors and simplified forms were used.
Pierre Bonnard's "Seascape." The painting probably represents a view of the bay of Cannes with the Esterel mountain in the background.
Exhibition info
Dates: Through February 20, 2022, 10am-6pm
Tickets: 188 yuan
Venue: Bund One Art Museum
Address: 1 Zhongshan Road E1
