The exhibition opens this Saturday to the public and will remain there until November. Nearly 90,000 visitors are expected there.
Just take a few steps in the dedicated room to measure the scale of the new exhibition at the Soulages museum. “Fernand Léger, une vie à bras-le-corps” promises to be the big cultural event of the summer in Rodez. Make no mistake regarding it, Benoît Decron and his team have once once more struck a blow with this exhibition that they took three years to set up, Covid obliges. “It’s heart-warming,” breathes Maurice Fréchuret, co-curator of the exhibition and specialist in Fernand Léger.
More than eighty paintings by this major artist from the end of the war have been unveiled to the public since this Saturday, in a scenography signed by the Ruthénois Olivier Arnaudo, allowing to take the full measure of these works. “An open space for large formats, and a more confined and less lit space for more fragile works”, summarizes the director of the museum.
A director who finds it difficult to hide his joy. “When I presented Pierre Soulages with the different options for this summer, I was keen on Fernand Léger. I have always had great pleasure in talking regarding this artist. His works have always accompanied me when I was young in my training course in the history of art. Which makes me say that you always have to trust what you love when you are a kid”.
But if Benoît Decron is also proud to unveil this exhibition, it is because he also measures the chance that this represents for the people of Ruthen, as an exhibition of this caliber is generally reserved for large cities. “This exhibition has a retrospective character, with several masterpieces, such as the Mona Lisa with the keys, Party of the countryside, The divers… It is a very accessible exhibition, which is also able to delight the public in this austere and sad context”, continues Benoît Decron. An exhibition likely to delight both neophytes and art enthusiasts. Of a nature to see all visitors to the museum take a step back…
“We expect 90,000 visitors for this exhibition”
Once once more, the Soulages museum will undoubtedly exert a strong power of attraction this summer. The weeks that have just passed have demonstrated this once once more. During the last long weekends, the museum has attracted more than a thousand visitors. Even though no temporary exhibition was presented. “Which bodes well for a great summer” we whisper behind the scenes of the museum. “I think that we will welcome nearly 90,000 visitors for this exhibition” advances the director of a museum which, following passing the milestone of one million visitors last September, is preparing to pass that of 1.1 million this summer.
