“The Courtauld Collection: A Vision for Impressionism” at Fondation Louis Vuitton
After the success of the exhibitions dedicated to Basquiat and Schiele, the Louis Vuitton Foundation presents the Courtauld collection: 110 works lent by the Courtauld Gallery, as well as other public and private international collections. The Courtauld family, originally from the Isle of Oleron, emigrated to England at the end of the 17th century. First goldsmiths, the Courtaulds then founded a textile company that became one of the most important in the world at the beginning of the 20th century, thanks to the invention of viscose. Samuel Courtauld became president at that time, and began collecting with his wife Elizabeth: the couple were aesthetes with a keen knowledge of art. The Louis Vuitton Foundation has curated a selection, and the exceptional exhibition features works by Manet, Pissarro, Seurat, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and sketches by Pablo Picasso. In parallel with the exhibition—titled “Courtauld Collection: The Party of Impressionism”—the Foundation is presenting new works from its own collection, titled “The Party of Painting.” Some 70 works by 23 international artists (including Yayoi Kusama, Jesús Rafael Soto, and Niele Toroni) reveal painting in all its diverse forms, from figurative to abstract. With these two exhibitions in dialogue, the Foundation demonstrates its commitment to contemporary creation while preserving a historical perspective.
