Manet, Un Coin du Jardin de Bellevue, 1880
While less peaceful than the museum I wrote about last, the Musée Maillol is another treasure. It’s just the right size, not too overwhelming, in the very tony 7th arrondissement. The permanent collection of the Banyuls master is rich, but we had come for the Bührle Collection. There is something for everyone who loves modern art, which is probably why it was less peaceful. The curators have delightfully highlighted the evolution of many artists, amazing us at every turn.
For example, there’s a signature Manet showing his mastery of black, with the dark and light figures in the foreground catching our attention. A modern painting that is like a bridge between Realism and Impressionism. And then another landscape explodes with free and delicate brushwork, color, and atmosphere. Impressionistic, this intimate garden scene seems more like a Berthe Morisot than a Manet to me. And they did influence each other. They were close, had a complicated relationship, and were even related as she married his brother.
Strolling through the galleries, these surprises reminded me of counterpoint. Iconic styles of artists are mixed with the unexpected, and the whole is just lovely. Buhrle was a brilliant composer, with a gift of uncovering the rare pearl to tell an artist’s story.
Then there is Degas whom we imagine meticulously studying his figures, focusing on movement, and painting inside his Paris studio. Nothing left to chance. We do indeed see the poetic ballet dancers stretched in a contemporary way on an elongated canvas. That gorgeous light and vibrant oranges against blues are stunning. But there is also one apparently plein air painting that seems so unlike him. One in which I get to see a bit of his process. It looks unfinished with his initial mark making present, yet it is not one of his late, ébauche-like pieces. Maybe he did think of it as experimental because he kept it in his studio, never selling it. But then, he did that a lot.
Edgar Degas, Danseuses au foyer, 1889
Edgar Degas, Ludovic Lepic et ses filles, c 1871
Van Gogh is the star, with a glorious display that shows the artist’s stages succinctly. We see the darker, more naturalistic pieces done in Holland, his Paris period with the influence of Impressionists, and the entrancing “Le Semeur, Soleil Couchant.” How different this farmer is from the one in the first picture. Done in Arles, the complementary colors and dynamic lines are magnetic, and the cropped composition sends me to that brilliant sun. The Japanese influence shows in this and “Branches de Maronnier en Fleur”. Although painted in the last year of his life while he was in Auvers sur Oise, I did not see any trace of his suffering here. The flowers are so gestural, lively, and modern, with the horizontal, close-up composition.
What an overview in these few pieces.
Van Gogh, early pieces done in Holland
Van Gogh, Autoportrait, 1887
Such a contrasting mood from the other done in the Paris period.
Van Gogh, Les Ponts d’Asnieres, 1887. An impressionistic scene of the outskirts of Paris.
Vincent Van Gogh, Le Semeur, Soleil Couchant, 1888
Van Gogh, Branches de Marronier en fleur, 1890
Despite the breadth of this exhibition, there’s a controversial side of Emil Bührle and his art purchases during WWII, which the exhibition addresses. I’m happy just to talk about the aesthetic though!
All photos my own.