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Henri Rousseau's "The Snake Charmer," above, and Claude Monet's "The Woman with a Parasol" will be displayed at the National Museum of Korea (NMK) in Seoul through Aug. 31. |
National Museum exhibits works of Musee d'Orsay through August
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Guy Cogeval, the director of the Musee d'Orsay, speaks to reporters at the NMK in Seoul, Friday. / Yonhap |
The National Museum of Korea (NMK) on Friday began a four-month exhibition showcasing works by French Post-Impressionist artists including Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet, on loan from the famed Musee d'Orsay.
"Beyond Impressionism: the Birth of Modern Art" features 175 works from the museum, well known for its collections depicting 19th-century Paris.
Guy Cogeval, director of the museum, said it is the Musee d'Orsay's largest overseas exhibition.
"On behalf of the museum, I am honored to exhibit our prestigious works in Seoul," Cogeval told reporters, Friday.
"Currently, there are many overseas exhibitions featuring works of our museum in other cities such as Rome, Mexico City, Tokyo and more. But I would be proud to say that the Seoul exhibition is the best in our overseas exhibition history in terms of the scale and the composition of its exhibits."
Caroline Mathieu, a chief curator of the French museum, said, "The previous overseas exhibitions that we have lent were pretty much limited to painting works created by prominent artists such as Monet or Gogh.
"But for the Seoul exhibition, we've decided to exhibit every different art form, including photography, craftworks and sculptures, in cooperation with our Korean counterparts, and in that sense I think it would be very meaningful as we are proudly able to unveil the whole picture of us."
Kim Young-na, NMK director, added: "We've launched this exhibition in order to glimpse at how the Post-Impressionists were influenced by the modern city of Paris in the 19th century."
From masterworks to lesser-known pieces, the art exhibited portray the lifestyle of Parisians in the second half of the 19th century, an affluent time for many.
The best-known works from the likes of Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh are shown in one area. Van Gogh's "Portrait of Eugene Boch," Gauguin's "The Gold Harvest" and Monet's "The Woman with a Parasol" are all there.
Henri Rousseau's "The Snake Charmer" - rarely seen abroad - is another noteworthy piece. It ravishingly conveys Rousseau's desire to escape the trappings of civilization.
Other drawings, crafts, photos and sculptures, show the everyday lives of Parisians at the time as well as the city's modernization process.
The exhibition runs through August 31. Tickets cost 8,000 won for children, 10,000 won for students and 12,000 won for adults. For more information, visit www.orsay2014.co.kr or call (02) 325-1077.