The Nahmad Collection: from Monet to Picasso, Giverny

 

Amedeo Modigliani: Jeune fille à la chemise rayée (Young girl in stripey shirt) 1917

The Exhibition of the Nahmad Collection at the Musée des Impressionismes, Giverny, culminates in three works by 20th century masters: Modigliani, Matisse and Picasso. It is refreshing to see some lesser-known paintings. Modigliani's young girl, above, looks a thoroughly modern woman in her rather masculine attire but her gaze is impenetrable. It is unusual for Modigliani to paint the eye pupils- many of his models have blank, mask-like eyes. 

Matisse's cosy scene of a piano lesson was painted when he was living in Nice. He finds a rich harmony of colours and a dynamic balance between the different patterns:

Henri Matisse: La leçon de piano (The Piano lesson) 1923

Picasso is at the heart of David Nahmad's collection, which contains around 300 of the Spanish painter's works. Here, the Pierrot with flowers is a portrait of Picasso's son Paulo, born in 1921, but harks back to a tradition of the commedia del Arte figures and perhaps Renoir's portrayal of his youngest son in 1909 dressed as a clown:

Pablo Picasso: Le Petit Pierrot aux fleurs (The little Pierrot with flowers) 1923

The exhibition traces links between these three 20th century artists and their predecessors the Impressionists.

The Lebanese collectors have carefully, over the years, brought together many famous names in modern art. The exhibition starts with the precursors- Delacroix and Corot.

A small oil painting by Delacroix inspired by his trip to Morocco opens the exhibition, expressing his taste for the exotic:

Eugėne Delacroix: Juive de Tanger en costume d'apparat (Jewish woman from Tangiers in formal apparel) 1835

Delacroix's intense colours inspired Impressionist painters, especially Renoir, who is represented by several studies of children in the exhibition. Three portraits of his younger brother Edmond's son, with glorious flowing locks, demonstrate Renoir's sensitivity in painting children:

 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Enfant assis en robe bleue (Seated child in blue dress-Portrait of Edmond Renoir Jr) 1889 

A fresh-looking young Pierre Renoir (Renoir's eldest son by wife Aline) is another surprise of the exhibition:

Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Portrait of Pierre Renoir 1890

Portraits of young women by Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec feature alongside figure drawings by Degas:

Edgar Degas: Après le bain, femme s'essuyant (After bathing, woman drying herself)  circa 1903  charcoal and pastel

Degas' women are portrayed in their natural state, as if the artist had caught them unawares. His dynamic lines capture the action of the moment. Toulouse Lautrec similarly seizes an intimate moment using delicate oil paint on cardboard. He portrays Mme Fabre, the wife of a good friend:

   

La Toilette: Mme Fabre (Femme se faisant les mains) (Woman doing her nails) 1891

 The Nahmad Collection possesses numerous landscapes by Sisley and Monet, several of which are on show here- for example Sisley's atmospheric morning scene on the banks of the Loing river :

Alfred Sisley: Bords du Loing, effet du matin
                                                (Banks of the Loing, morning effect)  1896                                                                                                                                                                                                       
Argenteuil was where Monet lived  in the 1870s, happy times, when he painted alongside his friends Renoir and Sisley.  A summer view of boats sailing at Argenteuil by Monet has been chosen for the  exhibition poster  :
                                                                                                                                                                               

Claude Monet: Canoters à Argenteuil (Canoists at Argenteuil) 1874

 Unlike his late works, the above scene has a strong structure to it with contrasting lines and angles. Monet loved to paint the luminescence of snow. The exhibition includes a winter scene at Argenteuil:
                                                                                                                                                                       

Claude Monet: Effets d'hiver à Argenteuil (Winter effect at Argenteuil)  1875

                                                                                                                                                                   As a complete contrast, the Nahmad exhibition contains several works by symbolist painter Gustave Moreau. Moreau was a received artist in his day and taught Matisse among others at the Paris Arts School. encouraging his pupils to put their trust in colour. Moreau's works are the opposite of every day familiar scenes. His subjects are biblical, literary or of classical mythology, such as his Saint Cecile, patron saint of music:
                                                                                                                                                                           

Sainte Cécile (Les anges lui annoncent son prochain martyre)
(The angels announce her coming martyrdom) 1897
                                                                                                                                                           Gustave Moreau combines romanticism with his own oriental mixture to produce paintings full of mystery. He provides a totally different take on the story of Suzanne and the old men. His Suzanne appears as an oriental seductress:
                                                                                                                                                                               

Suzanne et les Vieillards (Suzanne and the Old men) circa 1895
                                                                                                                                                                            His depiction of the meeting of the resurrected Christ and Mary Magdalene is a dream-like vision:

Gustave Moreau: Le Christ et la Madeleine (Noli me tangere) (Christ and Marie Magdalene)  1889
   
Such paintings are an exciting contrast with the realist world of Impressionism. Imagination takes precedence over the real world. It is not surprising that the Surrealists later looked back to Gustave Moreau for inspiration. Another enigmatic artist is Odilon Redon, who started his career painting black and white hybrid monsters straight out of the unconscious before creating an enchanted world of colour. His works are full of fantasy- for example his female centaur dancing amidst poppies:
                                                                                                                                                                               

Odilon Redon: Le Centaure aux coquelicots (The Centaur with poppies) 1910
                                                                                                                                                                            A curious vision of a floating winged head, typical of Redon, is to be seen in his portrayal of Icarus, the young man who flew too close to the sun and ended up in the ocean:
                                                                                                                                                                             

Odilon Redon: Figure portant une tête ailée (La Chute d'Icare) (Figure carrying a winged head)
(The Fall of Icarus) circa 1876
                                                                                                                                                                          Another strand of the Nahmad exhibition is provided by a series of Italian works, including a vivid portrayal of a lady in a garden by Zandomeneghi. Dashes of colour on her dress remind us of, say, Renoir's painting of reflections on men's clothing. Zandomeneghi was invited to exhibit at the Impressionist exhibitions in Paris by Degas, who had met the painter in Florence when visiting his Italian relations:
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Federico Zandomeneghi: La Corbeille de géraniums (The Basket of geraniums) circa 1901
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The Nahmad Collection exhibition is at the Musée des Impressionismes, Giverny from 28th March until 29th June, 2025.
Open daily from 10am to 6pm.
Nearest railway station: Vernon (train from Saint Lazare in Paris)
                                                                                                                                                                                                                             ********************************