The exhibition includes works by the two great artists that consequently are not on show at the Museum at the moment. View the current itinerary. The Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume collection is one of the most wonderful European collections of paintings, bringing together works from the s to the s.
From to his death in , he built up a rich collection of several hundred paintings, from impressionism to modern art, as well as African and Oceanian artworks. He became wealthy and well known, from Europe to the US, and died at the peak of his fame when he was considering opening a museum.
After his death, his widow, Domenica, married architect Jean Walter and transformed and reduced the collection, while acquiring new works. When the French state bought the collection at the end of the s, she wanted to name it after her successive husbands. As regards the twentieth century, the museum is proud to present twelve works by Picasso, ten by Matisse, five by Modigliani, seven by Marie Laurencin, nine by Henri Rousseau, thirty-one by Derain, ten by Utrillo, twenty-two by Soutine, and one by Van Dongen.
Find out more. Indeed, Domenica Walter — , the widow of art dealer Paul Guillaume — , then of architect and industrialist Jean Walter — , fulfilled her first husband's desire to create « the first French museum of modern art » open to the public. The French state offered to exhibit the collection at the Orangerie. Architect Olivier Lahalle led a second renovation project from to The exhibition galleries were removed and two levels on top of each other, running the entire length, were added to the building.
An imposing staircase with a banister designed by Raymond Subes — replaced the entrance hall to the Water Lilies. It led to a series of salons Domenica wanted to display the paintings in. Domenica Walter kept the paintings until her death in A third renovation project took place from to to strengthen the building, refurbish the rooms, and permanently house the entire collection, named the « Jean Walter and Paul Guillaume collection », as Domenica Walter had wished.
