Shanghai Daily news

For local art lovers, the end of the year means a new beginning. It's like: ``Save the best for last.''
``Tresors Impressionnistes de Collections Nationales Francaises,'' the most expensive exhibition that the Shanghai Art Museum has ever mounted, promises to dazzle visitors with 51 priceless French Impressionist masterpieces. The bulk of the exhibits, some 38 canvases, are on loan from Paris' Musee d'Orsay.
As part of the Year of France in China, the exhibition has already conquered Beijing, attracting more than 300,000 visitors in six weeks. The Shanghai showing is expected to set a new record for the number of visitors.
``We will limit the number of people entering the museum during the week-end and may also extend the opening hours for the exhibition,'' says Xiao Xiaolan, the museum's curator who is in charge of the exhibition.
In the 1870s, Impressionism was created by a French avant-garde group of painters and the art form they created was initially rejected by the mainstream art academy. The Impressionists, including Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet and Edgar Manet, painted ordinary life and people and rejected historical and mythological subjects.
They used light, color and shade to create ``impressions'' of reality which were only fully revealed when viewed from a distance. The group was acclaimed for its groundbreaking work in departing from traditional art.
``This exhibition will guide visitors through the development of Impressionism across different periods of time,'' says Marianne Mathieu from the Musee d'Orsay.
The Shanghai Art Museum's exhibition hall on the first floor has been redesigned so that visitors are only able to enter through one doorway and then progress down a corridor to appreciate the masterpieces on the wall without any distractions.
According to Xiao, the museum has spent nearly 400,000 yuan (US$48,193) on new lighting from Germany which gives a focused but soft illumination for the canvases.
The first piece visitors will encounter is Henri Fantin Latour's ``Un Atelier aux Batignolles'' painted in 1870. The critical thing in this work is that it is a piece of art history. It depicts a group of painters in a studio when Impressionism was in its infancy and the artists include Manet, Renoir and Monet.
The most valuable work showcased here is Manet's ``Le Fifre'' which is estimated to be worth around 800 million yuan. The scene features a young hussar playing the flute. The backdrop with its lack of striking details was a break with the traditional concept of artistic use of space. The plain technique also marked a new and challenging mode of expression.
Another important figure of the time, Paul Cezanne, known for his sensitivity in structuring his canvases, is introduced to local art lovers through five of his canvases, including the famous ``Trois Baigneuses.''
It's a pity that Monet's representative series -- ``Water Lilies'' -- is not on show this time, perhaps because they are too precious to be allowed out of France.
In his later years, Monet lived in Giverny where he indulged himself on a boat painting water lilies in a pond he had built in 1893. Monet's unique technique culminated in his ability to capture nuances of light and shade in depicting the water lilies.
Although the exhibition does have Monet's ``Water Lilies Under the Effect of Evening,'' this work is more abstract.
``But we still have his works in 1867, 1875, 1885, 1892, 1901 and 1907, and viewers will be able to see the evolution of his artistic technique,'' says Mathieu. ``Regretfully, we have not been able to bring some other works from the museum due to safety concerns.''
Located across the Louvre on the left bank of the Seine, the Musee d'Orsay is dedicated to artworks created between 1848 and 1914. Paintings, pastels, sculptures, furniture and objets d'art, photography and documentary works housed in the museum reflect the richness and artistic diversity of the period.
The Year of France in China marks the first time that the museum has allowed so much of its collection to leave France. The insurance cost alone for the exhibition is 5.5 billion yuan.
Security and safety measures have been the Shanghai Art Museum's top priority. The museum has installed a safety inspection door at the main gate to check every visitor and look over his or her belongings.
``No cameras or metallic objects will be allowed inside the exhibition hall,'' Xiao says.
The strict safeguards at the point of entry, usually seen only at airports, takes a little time. So don't be curious when you see long queues waiting outside the Shanghai Art Museum -- a ``date'' with the masters of Impressionism requires some patience.

Date: December 9-January 19, 9am-5pm
Address: 325 Nanjing Rd W.
Admission: 20 yuan
Tel: 6327-2829