Another amazing exhibition at the National Gallery, following the Rembrandt. This exhibition is cleverly based around the relationship between the art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel and the painters whose work he loved, championed and dealt in.
The exhibition opens with a room of Renoirs, including several paintings of Durand-Ruel and members of his family. I particularly like the, portrait of his two sons. Next was a room covering three themes a) the backround of the Barbizon school, especially Corbet b) the visit of Pissaro and Monet to London, that included a magnificent portrait of Mme Monet on a chaise-longue c) Durand-Ruel's gamble on the art of Manet. The third room was under the theme 'committing to the 'new painting'" and contained works that he invested in from 1872 featuring Pissarro, Sisley Monet and Degas.
The remaining rooms concentrated on exhibitions in Paris, New York and London. The 1876 Second Impressionist Exhibition was promoted by Durand-Rueland Room IV contained paintings featured in that exhibition, including Sisley's The Watering Place at Marly-le-Roi. The fifth room was devoted to a selection of the Monets shown in a single artist exhibition of a type pioneered by Durand-Ruel. Included are five of the poplar series, including two that have travelled from Japan.Also in this room was Monet's custom's house perched on a cliff.
The sixth room featured works taken to America and Germany for sale. The Americans were apparently particularly receptive to this new art and the room included a striking Cezanne landscape. The final room was based on an exhibition at the Grafton Galleries in 1905. It contained an early working of the Bar at the Folie Bergeres as well as Manet's Tuileries painting.
All in all an excellent exhibition. The impressionists are not my favourite painters but this exhibition would be hard not to like and enjoy for an hour or two however challenging or not you find the works it contains.
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