Geelong Gallery

Do you consider yourself somewhat of a Monet maestro, or even a Degas devotee? You can thank Paul Durand-Ruel, the dealer who backed the Impressionists when no one else would dare. A major new exhibition at Geelong Gallery puts the man who made the movement possible in the spotlight. Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel brings together more than 70 paintings across five galleries, many from private French collections and never before seen in Australia. Alongside household names like Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot and Camille Pissarro, the show celebrates a second generation of artists long overlooked, including Albert André and Gustave Loiseau, whose work expands and reshapes the way Impressionism has been looked at in its later years. At the centre is Paul Durand-Ruel, the visionary dealer who staked everything on a movement once ridiculed by the establishment. Over his lifetime, he bought thousands of works, championed their artists and helped transform public taste across Europe and America. Without him, Impressionism as we know it might not exist. Beyond the works on display, highlights in the exhibition will include rare decorative panels created for Durand-Ruel’s Paris apartment and a partial recreation of the salon where he hosted collectors, offering a glimpse into the world that helped shape modern art.  Marking Geelong Gallery’s 130th year, this is its most ambitious exhibition to date, and the only Australian stop for a show...