After the successful Rembrandt exhibition, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt has another highlight in store: with Pierre-Auguste Renoir, the museum is dedicating an exhibition to another great artist, placing his work in the context of a particular era. In this case, it is the Rococo. Between Renoir, an important representative of Impressionism, and the Rococo, which experienced a great renaissance during Renoir's lifetime, there are some sometimes surprising references. Where exactly these can be found is what this exhibition aims to reveal, and in doing so, to show where Renoir's Impressionism actually came from. Through apt juxtapositions of Renoir's art with works of the 18th century as well as his contemporaries - Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet or Berthe Morisot - an insight into the multi-layered examination of the Rococo in Impressionism emerges.
"The first exhibition highlight at Frankfurt's Städel in 2022 is dedicated to the master of Impressionism and his passion for Rococo. In this way, 'Renoir. Rococo Revival' not only follows on from previous major exhibitions on French modernist art at the Städel, but also fills many a gap in a still surprisingly under-researched thematic field of Impressionism. The fact that we were able to fully plan and realize this exhibition in times of pandemic is thanks to the outstanding commitment and dedication of everyone involved, the lending museums, and our sponsors and partners. It is a great fortune to know that they are all at the Städel Museum's side," said Philipp Demandt, director of the Städel Museum.
Visitors can look forward to a total of some 120 outstanding paintings, works on paper, sculptures and craft objects brought to Frankfurt from around the world, including international museums such as the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the National Gallery in London, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York or the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Of course, the two paintings by Renoir, which have been part of the Städel Museum's collection since 1910, will also be on display. In the simple and colorfully restrained exhibition rooms, the exhibited works can unfold very well.
You can go on an art historical search for Renoir's artistic connections to the Rococo, or simply let the beauty of the paintings affect you. In addition to a very conventional museum visit, there are even more ways to delve deeper into the exhibition's themes, such as with the Digitorial, available at https://renoir.staedelmuseum.de/, or through online tours, an audio guide app in which actress Saskia Rosendahl guides you through Renoir's artistic worlds, or the comprehensive catalog. Either way, it has become a very worthwhile and simply beautiful exhibition, which you can visit at the Städel from now until June 19.
