Revolutions are a treacherous business. They topple governments and shake up societies, of course. But they also have a dramatic effect on culture and heritage. One of the many aftereffects of the Russian Revolution was the confiscation of the extraordinary modern art collection of the Moscow textile magnate Sergei Shchukin. The collection was nationalized, scattered (part of it ending up in Siberia), and long hidden from view. Most of the showpieces were then split between two museums -- the Hermitage, the Pushkin -- and never again seen under the same roof.
Until now, that is. A French billionaire (Bernard Arnault of LVMH) and his private museum (the Fondation Louis Vuitton) have brought 127 pieces of the collection together in Paris, where they were originally purchased. The result is what the exhibition's curator Anne Baldassari describes as "possibly the greatest collection of modern art ever."
As the world's foremost Picasso specialist, Baldassari would know. She was the director of the Musee Picasso in Paris until 2014, and previously staged such modern-art blockbuster exhibitions as "Matisse-Picasso" and "Picasso et les Maitres."
The Shchukin exhibition's tally of masterpieces is dizzying. In the first few galleries, representing Shchukin's early collecting, there are gems by Andre Derain, Douanier Rousseau (including the monumental portrait of Apollinaire and Marie Laurencin) and Monet (including one of his misty Houses of Parliament, this one unusually featuring seagulls flapping across the middle).
Then you get to the pieces de resistance: three gigantic rooms dedicated to the collection's superstars -- Gauguin, Matisse, and Picasso, followed by a smattering of Russian artworks that took direct inspiration from the Iberian master's Cubist creations. Any of these three sections alone would be worth the visit.
Arnault, meanwhile, is looking pleased. He's scored a major coup in his long-running competition with fellow billionaire Francois Pinault. Pinault has two museums in Venice and is soon to open another one at the Bourse du Commerce in Paris. But he's going to have an excruciatingly hard time matching this.
The exhibition runs until Feb. 26, so book fast.
Until now, that is. A French billionaire (Bernard Arnault of LVMH) and his private museum (the Fondation Louis Vuitton) have brought 127 pieces of the collection together in Paris, where they were originally purchased. The result is what the exhibition's curator Anne Baldassari describes as "possibly the greatest collection of modern art ever."
As the world's foremost Picasso specialist, Baldassari would know. She was the director of the Musee Picasso in Paris until 2014, and previously staged such modern-art blockbuster exhibitions as "Matisse-Picasso" and "Picasso et les Maitres."
The Shchukin exhibition's tally of masterpieces is dizzying. In the first few galleries, representing Shchukin's early collecting, there are gems by Andre Derain, Douanier Rousseau (including the monumental portrait of Apollinaire and Marie Laurencin) and Monet (including one of his misty Houses of Parliament, this one unusually featuring seagulls flapping across the middle).
Then you get to the pieces de resistance: three gigantic rooms dedicated to the collection's superstars -- Gauguin, Matisse, and Picasso, followed by a smattering of Russian artworks that took direct inspiration from the Iberian master's Cubist creations. Any of these three sections alone would be worth the visit.
Arnault, meanwhile, is looking pleased. He's scored a major coup in his long-running competition with fellow billionaire Francois Pinault. Pinault has two museums in Venice and is soon to open another one at the Bourse du Commerce in Paris. But he's going to have an excruciatingly hard time matching this.
The exhibition runs until Feb. 26, so book fast.
