The Louvre Abu Dhabi has just unveiled the Middle East’s largest exhibition of Impressionist paintings ahead of the museum’s fifth anniversary. The fine art exhibit, entitled, Impressionism: Pathways to Modernity,” will run until 5th February 2023. It features over 100 paintings by infamous Impressionist painters and pioneers including, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Edouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, Claude Monet and Gustave Caillebotte.
Impressionism was a form of painting first established in Paris in the 1870s when the city was undergoing a transition into modernity and social changes were taking place that altered society and its norms. The style of painting is known to be revolutionary to the art world and is still hugely respected today.
The exhibition’s co-curator, Stéphane Guégan said in a statement, “When you’re facing an impressionistic painting, you still have the feeling that it’s really fresh. It’s the result of something very direct, very spontaneous. . . It’s the feeling of looking through the painter’s eyes.”
Impressionist artists, when the art form first took off, were referred to as being “radicals,” and received harsh criticisms from art experts and the press of the time for stepping away from classic art sensibilities. The new style was controversial, and many critics referred to it as looking “unfinished” as it broke away from the details in the highly regarded classic style.
Impressionist painters became social commentators through their works as they often painted life as it took place – making the banal beautiful and interesting. They used vibrant hues to depict scenes such as women in elegant dresses, opulent home interiors, a lady having a cup of hot chocolate, bridges, among greater subjects such as urbanization in cities, nature, and fashion.
“France and Europe turned into very modern societies and the painters responded to this situation in changing the subject matter of their painting and the way they represented the outside world,” said Guégan.
“Impressionism: Pathways to Modernity” is also bringing fashion of the time as part of the exhibition as five costumes from the 1800s will also be on display.
Highlights of the exhibition include Manet’s “The Balcony,” Morisot’s “The Cradle,” and a painting of London’s Houses of Parliament by Monet, who was noted as “the father of Impressionism.”
Abu Dhabi’s Louvre wanted to exhibit these impressionist masterpieces so that people from the MENA region would have the opportunity to see them at least once in their lifetime.
