Impressionist children at La Piscine thanks to the Musée d’Orsay
Exhibition from 17 February to 26 May 2024
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Impressionism, the Musée d’Orsay offered to loan some iconic works from its prestigious collection to several museums in the region to build up a chain of events and interplay with the collections of the institutions interested in the proposal. Seizing upon this generous opportunity, La Piscine put forward the idea of asking its “Mona Lisa”, La Petite Châtelaine by Camille Claudel, to extend an invitation to a few impressionist children from the national collections. As a result, three paintings by Degas, Renoir and Pissarro, and a sculpture by Degas will, for a period of three months, be the distinguished guests of the marble created by Claudel in the spirit of Impressionism, at the beginning of the 1890s.
This event will be presented in the room that is currently dedicated to the theme of childhood at the centre of the permanent exhibition, whose display will be substantially modified to create a real dialogue between the works and protagonists. To consolidate the strong bond that La Piscine has established with young audiences, a unique presentation of its “childish” subjects will be provided in the cubicles alongside the pool. Grouped together to create new dialogues, in new spaces, sometimes taken from the storerooms, or even restored especially for this experiment, these works and objects – from the maternal womb to the angst of adolescence, from the baptism dress to the first districts of fashion – provide an alternative perspective on the way in which the museum’s collections are put together.
Commission: Bruno Gaudichon, head curator, and Adèle Taillefait, curator, La Piscine – André-Diligent Museum of Art and Industry of Roubaix
The design was made possible thanks to generous support from the paints distributed by Tollens.
Private viewing Friday 16 February 2024 from 6pm
Key: Edgar Degas (1834-1917), Petite danseuse de quatorze ans. Date du modèle : entre 1878 et 1881, date de la fonte : entre 1921 et 1931. Statue en bronze patiné, tutu en tulle, ruban de satin, socle en bois, 98 x 35,2 x 24,5 cm. Paris, musée d’Orsay. Achat avec la générosité des héritiers d’Edgar Degas et de la famille Hébrard, 1931 © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / René-Gabriel Ojéda
