From the first to the last day, the comments of visitors have been dithyrambic, and more than a barometer of this flattering word-of-mouth, these are figures that the Grimaldi Forum proudly communicated on Monday to seal the success of its exhibition of summer Monet in full light. The 58 days of exhibition, from July 8 to September 3, attracted 120,000 visitors*! That is an average of more than 2,000 visitors per day, “with peaks of up to 4,000 people at the end of the exhibition”.
“It’s a record! Compared to the number of opening days, it is the most visited exhibition at the Grimaldi Forum! We can be proud of such a result and I would like to salute the tremendous work carried out by all our teams. From self-guided tours to guided tours, including the shop, we had our fill during the 58 days of the exhibition!”welcomes the director general of the Grimaldi Forum, Sylvie Biancheri.
Un public francophone
The fame of the master of Impressionism and the choice of the exhibition curator, Marianne Mathieu, to present his creation on the territory of the French and Italian Riviera hit the mark, since this sensory cocktail drained “80% of visitors come from Monaco and France, but also from abroad, with a majority of Europeans, in the first ranks of whom around 10% are Italians attracted by Claude Monet’s paintings in Bordighera and Dolceacqua”.
“This exhibition will remain etched in people’s memories. Its quality reflected our ambition in terms of sponsorship, that of contributing ever more and better to the cultural influence of the Principality. It was also an opportunity to take advantage of the partnership between the Grimaldi Forum and CMB Monaco, now placed under the sign of CSR, with the reception of groups accompanied by the association Les Enfants de Frankie”testifies Francesco Grosoli, CEO of CMB Monaco, official and historic partner of the Grimaldi Forum.
Virtuous approaches
The exhibition will also have been an opportunity to innovate for the Grimaldi Forum in environmental matters. While ISO 2021 certification – the reference standard in the field – is in progress, the Monegasque institution is claiming a 30-tonne drop in its CO emissions2. “Crate systems have been redesigned, air deliveries grouped together, a new fuel solution has even been used for road freight in collaboration with the transporter André Chenue to reduce the ecological impact of the exhibition! With an impressive result for a first approach: more than 20% savings.”
Finally, there is the satisfaction of having given access to the 100 paintings by Monet to associations such as Fight Aids or Valentin Haüy and Arrimage, which works for a visually impaired or blind public.
The Grimaldi Forum teams are already looking ahead to the next summer seasons which will successively honor the painter “William JM Turner, the sublime heritage” in 2024 (with the Tate); “Colours: masterpieces of the XXe century, with the Center Pompidou” in 2025; and “Monaco & l’Automobile” in 2026. With new records at stake?
*In 2017, “The Forbidden City in Monaco” attracted 47,000 visitors; in 2018, it was 80,000 for “L’or des pharaons”; the same for “Dali, a history of painting” in 2019; in 2021 and 2022 Alberto Giacometti (32,500 visitors) and Christian Louboutin (37,000 visitors) had suffered from the post-pandemic context.