Cast your mind back to 2021, a time when countless events on Melbourne’s arts scene had to close almost as soon as they opened to keep us safe. Amongst those exhibitions was French Impressionism, a particularly well-loved offering at NGV International, which all too few people got to see.
For all the Melburnians out there who missed out on their slice of colourful continental art in 2021, you’ve officially been given a second chance. The NGV has just revealed that a fresh, reimagined version of French Impressionism will be the gallery’s Winter Masterpieces exhibition in 2025.
Thanks to a renewed partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – a brand-new staging of the dazzling exhibition will run from June 6 until October 5, 2025. Expect a kaleidoscopic collection of masterpieces from famous names including Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cassatt, Morisot and Pissarro.
This refreshed version of French Impressionism will feature additional works never before seen in Australia and a completely new exhibition design inspired by the grand homes of the Bostonian art collectors where these masterpieces once hung.
For those unfamiliar with the whole 'Impressionism' thing, the key fact to understand is that these artists were a group of rebels who rejected the methods of painting that went before. According to Dr Ted Gott, senior curator of international art at the NGV, “French Impressionism was a radical new way of taking painting out of doors, painting directly before nature in the sun, wind and snow”.
Better yet, this is a style of art that doesn’t require heaps of background knowledge to be appreciated.
“You don’t have to know highfalutin’ stuff about art, you can just enjoy the incredible dance of the brush across the canvas,” says Dr Gott.
In an ultra-rare opportunity, the exhibition will also bring no less than 19 Monet paintings to the same place. Three will be seen early in the exhibition, with the remaining 16 concentrated in one glorious oval room which concludes the show.
“I remember last time just standing in that room all by myself, with goosebumps,” says Dr Gott.
Though this exhibition isn’t splashing colour across the city until next June, you can already secure tickets and discover more details at the NGV website.
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