Monet takes a stroll in Seoul

Nineteenth-century Paris has a unique place in the history of art, giving birth to two crucial movements – Impressionism and Post-impressionism. 

   Many masterpieces of this era are housed at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. They include works by such illustrious artists as Monet, Renoir, Degas, Gauguin, van Gogh and Cezanne. 

   One hundred and seventy-five of these are currently in Seoul for the exhibition “Beyond Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Muse d’Orsay” at the National Museum of Korea, in a ravishing treat for art lovers there. 

   Continuing through August, the show is the largest in scale for both museums: For Korea, it is the largest Orsay exhibition ever held in the country. For the Orsay, this is its largest overseas exhibition ever.

   A week into the show, it’s cruising toward becoming another “blockbuster” for Seoul, big, wildly popular and profitable. “Every piece shown here has come to Korea for the first time,” says associate curator Kim Seung-ik.

   Claude Monet, the “prince of Impressionists”, and his famous “Woman with a Parasol” greet visitors at the entrance to a show that takes them on a journey through the French art scene from the late 19th century to early 20th century. 

   The year 1886, when Monet painted this piece, was a remarkable juncture in Impressionism. The movement began when he and other young Paris-based artists, intent on capturing a moment in time with the focus on light and colour, decided to rebel against the establishment, represented by the Salon, by holding their own joint exhibitions. 

   Their first show was held in 1874, the last in 1886. After that the Impressionists began seeking their own independent artistic styles, expressing emotions rather than simply optical impressions, with some artists delving into Symbolism. 

   “Neo-impressionism emerged. Paul Gauguin left the modernised city for the primitive life. Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne established their unique distinctive worlds of art,” Kim explains. 

   Late Impressionist masterpieces on view include Monet’s “Houses of Parliament” (1904), Edgar Degas’ “Two Dancers at Rest” (1898) and portraits by Pierre Auguste Renoir – before moving onto Neo-impressionism. 

   Here there are works by George Seurat and others who used thousands of dots – large and small – to form an image. This technique is called Pointillism. 

   The unique and distinctive styles of Gauguin, van Gogh and Cezanne are highlighted next, although most of the paintings are lesser known. 

   “Some artists began expressing the world of dreams and the subconscious, using bold colours and flat planes. Such changes paved the way for 20th-century modern art,” the curator says.

   Although the artists introduced in this section are not as “popular”, it seems to be the highlight of the exhibition. Two pieces are particularly noteworthy: Odilon Redon’s “Eyes Closed” (1890) and Henri Rousseau’s “The Snake Charmer” (1907). 

   Museum director Kim Young-na regards “Eyes Closed” as the most precious piece of all, while her French counterpart, Guy Cogeval of the Musee d’Orsay, prefers “The Snake Charmer”. 

   The latter, Cogeval says, “is one of the most precious pieces in our collection, so much so that it was not allowed to be lent out overseas so far”. “Eyes Closed” is also rarely shown overseas. 

   The exhibition also features sculptures, drawings and photographs. They are intended to offer a glimpse into the making of modern Paris as we know it now. Art in this era either portrayed or tried to avoid the various faces of the city – either way it was influenced by it. 

   This is the fourth time the Musee d’Osay has lent its collection to South Korea. In 2000 more than 400,000 Koreans flocked to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art to view Millet’s “The Gleaners”. Displaying 35 paintings and 35 other artworks from the French museum, the event was recorded as the country’s first blockbuster art exhibition. 

   More Orsay shows came in 2007 and 2011, each renewing records in scale and the number of visitors.