Between 1916 and 1918, an astute Danish businessman indulged a personal passion for French art and amassed a collection of exceptional works of French artists ranging from Camille Corot to Paul Gauguin. Part of the collection, about 40 works, is on loan and can be seen until January 22 at the Jacquemart Andre Museum in Paris. I urge anyone who enjoys Impressionist and Post-Impressionist French art to see it, as it contains a large number of first class works that are rarely available to the public.
Known as the Ordrupgaard Collection, it begins with remarkable works of Realism, such as Corot’s “Windmill Near Arras,” includes numerous superb works of Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, an exceptional Renoir, Manet`s extraordinary “Basket of Pears” still life, a sublime Matisse still life, “Flowers and Fruit,” to name a few.
In terms of the quality of the works, it is one of the most remarkable private collections of 19th century French art, and brings to mind the Barnes and Clark collections in the USA. It is, however, a much smaller collection, which makes it possible to see it thoroughly in about an hour. For me that is a perfect amount of time to spend in an exhibition.
Alfred Sisley, Unloading Barges at Billancourt, 1877
Jacquemart Andre Museum, 158 bd. Haussmann, 75008 Paris Daily, 10 am to 6 pm, Mondays until 8:30 pm S.A.
