The "Musée de Reims: Magnificent French Paintings - Classicism, Romanticism, Impressionism, and Léonard Foujita" exhibition will be held at the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art's main building from July 16 to September 4. Located in the Champagne region of northeastern France, the historic city of Reims, home to the cathedral where French kings were crowned, the Musée de Reims opened in 1913 in the heart of the city. The museum boasts a wide-ranging collection, from medieval to contemporary art, and is known worldwide as a treasure trove of French paintings. As the name suggests, the Champagne region is the birthplace of champagne, and the Musée de Reims' collection was also founded by the wealthy who made their fortunes from champagne. This exhibition, held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art, will bring together the finest French paintings from the Musée de Reims's collection in four chapters. The exhibition features over 70 masterpieces, including 17th- and 18th-century Baroque and Rococo paintings, 19th-century Romantic and Neoclassical works by Eugène Delacroix and Jacques-Louis David, the Barbizon School of Camille Corot and Jean-François Millet, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works by Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, and Paul Gauguin, and works by Léonard Tsugouharu Foujita, a painter with ties to Kumamoto who became a naturalized French citizen. The exhibition will travel to Shizuoka City Museum of Art from September 10 to October 30, Fukui Prefectural Museum of Art from November 5 to December 25, and Hiroshima Museum of Art from February 11 to March 26, 2017, among other locations. In Kumamoto, a special exhibition will feature Foujita Tsuguharu's masterpiece "Spring in Normandy," painted for the French Consulate General in Kyoto (Maison Franco-Japanese in Kansai), as well as masterpieces by Foujita from the collections of the Hiroshima Museum of Art and the Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art.
[Event Information]
"Reims Museum Exhibition: Magnificent French Painting: Classicism, Romanticism, Impressionism, and Léonard Foujita"
Venue: Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art Main Building
Address: Ninomaru 2, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Dates: July 16th - September 4th
Hours: 9:30am - 5:15pm (last entry 4:45pm)
Admission: 1,300 yen for adults, 800 yen for high school and university students, free for junior high school students and younger
Closed: Mondays (or the following day if a national holiday falls on a Monday. Open August 1st and 15th)
