A national treasure presented at the Musée d'arts de Nantes
A masterpiece of Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) and of the history of Impressionism, Partie de bateau has entered the national collections, for the benefit of the Musée d'Orsay, thanks to the exclusive patronage of LVMH. Also sometimes referred to as Canotier au chapeau haut de forme, this is the most important national treasure acquired by the State thanks to patronage since the creation of the system for refusing export certificates in 1993.
To celebrate this major enrichment of national public collections, and at the request of the French Minister of Culture, this national treasure is being presented to the public on a tour of France to mark the 150th anniversary of Impressionism. After the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon and the Musée de Marseille, Gustave Caillebotte's work will be presented at the Musée d'arts de Nantes in spring 2024 in the Plein air, pleine mer room, at the heart of the 19th century collections, whose display has just been fundamentally renewed.
This room focuses on "aquatic" landscape painting around the time of Impressionism, from Eugène Boudin to Paul Signac. The works presented here highlight the way in which light reflects on water, diffracts in the air or makes the white foam of the waves of Brittany, the Normandy coast or the Mediterranean vibrate for an instant. Partie de bateau will temporarily replace Monet's Les Nymphéas à Giverny (1917), offering itself immediately and majestically to visitors, alongside Claude Monet's other work in the Nantes collections, Gondoles à Venise, a 1907 canvas donated to the museum by Georges Clemenceau.
150 years of Impressionism
In 2024, the French Ministry of Culture and the Musée d'Orsay are celebrating 150 years of Impressionism. In conjunction with the exhibition Paris 1874. Inventing Impressionism, from March 26 to July 14, 2024 at the Musée d'Orsay, some 180 works on special loan from the Musée d'Orsay can be discovered in over 30 museums across France.
Captions and credits:
Gustave Caillebotte, Partie de bateau, c. 1877-1878, oil on canvas, 89.5 × 116.7 cm, purchased with the exclusive sponsorship of LVMH, Grand Mécène de l'établissement 2022, Paris, Musée d'Orsay © Musée d'Orsay, dist. RMN-GGP / Sophie Crépy