French Impressionism coming back to NGV for Melbourne Winter Masterpieces 2025

Masterpieces by the likes of Monet, Renoir and Degas will be coming back to Melbourne in 2025, as the NGV revives an exclusive artistic showcase that was disrupted by lockdowns.

Claude Monet‘s Grand Canal, Venice (1908) will be a highlight of the NGV’s French Impressionism exhibition. Image courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Melburnians should prepare to be transported to Europe next winter – even if they’re not planning to jump on a plane.

For its 2025 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces showcase, the National Gallery of Victoria is bringing back the spectacular exhibition of French Impressionism that was significantly disrupted by Covid lockdowns in 2021, with a few additional works.

The exhibit will open in June and comprise more than 100 paintings by Impressionist masters Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro and Édouard Manet, alongside artists visitors will enjoy getting to know like Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot, Eugène Boudin, Frits Thaulow and Jean-François Raffaëlli.

Curator Katie Hanson – from Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, which has loaned the works exclusively to the NGV – said attendees would travel to Europe vicariously through the paintings, experiencing “places that are near and dear to these artists”.

Claude Monet’s Grainstack (1891). Image courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Woman with a parasol and small child on a sunlit hillside by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Image courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

White flowers in a bowl (1885) by Berthe Morisot. Image courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

“You’ll see the places that Monet lived and vacationed in,” Dr Hanson said. “Being able to see the Mediterranean coast courtesy of Monet when it’s bitterly cold outside is a great gift.

“Part of what keeps Impressionism so popular is that it continues to be relatable – admiring the landscape and also acknowledging the beauty in our every day lives whether that’s urban, suburban or out in the countryside is something that we really can relate to.”

She said highlights of the exhibition would include Renoir’s Dance at Bougival, Degas’ Ballet Dancer with Arms Crossed, and an extraordinary display of 16 Monet canvases depicting the French countryside and coast, all in one gallery.

Two portraits of Victorine Meurent – one painted by herself and the other by Manet, for whom she was “the favourite model” – would also be standouts, Dr Hanson said.

“The self-portrait only joined the MFA’s collection in 2021, so it’s going to be a really special surprise,” she said. “(It’s interesting) to see how (Manet) saw her and then, how she saw herself.”

Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Dance at Bougival (1883). Image courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Street singer (c. 1862) by Edouard Manet, depicting fellow artist Victorine Meurent. Image courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Edgar Degas, Ballet dancer with arms crossed (1872). Image courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Victorine Meurent, Self-portrait (c. 1876). Image courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

The MFA’s collection of French Impressionist paintings is one of the most impressive outside of France. Dr Hanson said the gallery owed this to the Bostonians who frequently were early collectors of these works, some of whom visited the artists in France during the movement.

“I like to say that they were collecting them while the paint was still wet,” she said.

American-born artist Cassatt’s passionate advocacy for the movements is another key reason so many Impressionist paintings landed in US collections.

NGV director Tony Ellwood said he was “incredibly grateful” to the MFA for “once again entrusting us with these extraordinary and art-historically important masterpieces and for their commitment to this ambitious restaging.”

Senior curator at the gallery Ted Gott described the showcase as “a must-see blast of warmth and colour to enliven Melbourne” next winter.

Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks said the state government was “pleased to be able to give this extraordinary exhibition the run it deserves”.

The exhibition was only open for 30 days in 2021, due to lockdowns.

It will be staged from June 6 to October 5 in 2025.

ngv.vic.gov.au

Originally published as French Impressionism coming back to NGV for Melbourne Winter Masterpieces 2025