The 2022 Exhibition Programme
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Van Gogh. Self-Portraits
3 February – 8 May 2022 (tickets on sale now)
Denise Coates Exhibition Galleries
The first ever exhibition devoted to Vincent van Gogh’s self-portraits across his entire career will take place at The Courtauld Gallery, opening 3 February 2022. The exhibition takes as its springboard Van Gogh’s iconic Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, one of the most celebrated works in The Courtauld collection, and will bring together around half of the self-portraits Van Gogh created during his career.
An outstanding selection of more than 15 self-portraits will be brought together to trace the evolution of Van Gogh’s self-representation, from his early Self-Portrait with a Dark Felt Hat, created in 1886 during his formative period in Paris, to Self-Portrait with a Palette, painted at the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in September 1889, one of his last self-portraits before his death in 1890. Van Gogh was a prolific practitioner of self-portraiture. His appearance is instantly recognisable, with his defined features, bright red hair and piercing gaze. Curated by Dr Karen Serres, Curator of Paintings at The Courtauld, Van Gogh. Self-Portraits will explore the myriad ways Van Gogh approached one of his most enduring subjects.
The exhibition will showcase masterpieces from major international collections, including the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Detroit Institute of Arts; the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and the National Gallery, London. Several works in the exhibition were last together in Van Gogh’s studio and have never been reunited, until now.
This exhibition is sponsored by Morgan Stanley and supported by Kenneth C. Griffin with additional support from the Huo Family Foundation.
The Morgan Stanley Exhibition: Edvard Munch. Masterpieces from Bergen
27 May – 5 September 2022 (tickets on sale Spring 2022)
Denise Coates Exhibition Galleries
A major collection of works by Edvard Munch will be shown in the UK for the first time at The Courtauld Gallery. Edvard Munch. Masterpieces from Bergen will run from 27 May – 5 September 2022, and is part of a partnership between The Courtauld and KODE art museums in Bergen, Norway. KODE in Bergen is home to one of the most important Munch collections in the world, originally assembled in the early 20th century by Norwegian industrialist Rasmus Meyer (1858 – 1916), who collected Munch’s work during the artist’s lifetime.
The exhibition will bring together some 18 paintings from this collection – the first time a comprehensive group of works from the collection has been seen outside Norway. It will begin with seminal early examples of Munch’s ‘realist’ period of the 1880s which launched his career, such as Morning (1884) and Summer Night (1889), a pivotal work that reflects the artist’s move towards the expressive and psychologically charged work for which he became famous. These works set the stage for the highly expressive paintings of the 1890s, including remarkable canvases from Munch’s famous Frieze of Life series which tackled profound themes of human existence through visceral depictions of the human psyche, such as Evening on Karl Johan (1892), Melancholy (1894-96) and At the Death Bed (1895).The Courtauld’s permanent collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces, on display in the newly refurbished LVMH Great Room, will provide rich context for the exhibition, revealing some of the artistic inspirations Munch encountered during his experimental years in Paris from 1889 – 1892, where he discovered the modern styles of Gauguin, Toulouse Lautrec and Van Gogh.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with contribution from experts from KODE and The Courtauld. This exhibition is sponsored by Morgan Stanley and supported by the AKO Foundation, with additional support from The Huo Family Foundation.
Fuseli and the Modern Woman: Fashion, Fantasy, Fetishism
13 October 2022 – 8 January 2023
Denise Coates Exhibition Galleries
The Courtauld Gallery will stage an exhibition devoted to a remarkable group of around fifty drawings by Henry Fuseli (1741 – 1825), one of 18th-century Europe’s most original and eccentric artists. Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Fuseli spent a formative period in Rome in the 1770s before settling in London, serving as both Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools and Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy when it was based at Somerset House.
Famous for his stylised paintings of heroic and supernatural scenes from classic and contemporary literature, The Courtauld’s exhibition explores an altogether different dimension to Fuseli’s art. It focuses on a striking group of drawings which reveal the artist’s private preoccupation with the figure of the contemporary woman. Often featuring his wife Sophia Rawlins, the drawings show women in elaborate hairstyles and striking costumes, and describe the modern woman as a figure of disturbing power. Following its presentation at The Courtauld Gallery the exhibition will travel to Kunsthaus Zürich, Zurich.
The Art of Experiment: Parmigianino at The Courtauld
5 March – 5 June 2022
The Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery
The Renaissance artist Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, better known as Parmigianino (1503-1540), was celebrated for his graceful compositions and praised as the heir to Raphael (1483 – 1520). Parmigianino drew relentlessly during his short life: more than a thousand of his drawings have survived. They show the virtuoso artist, endlessly sketching out new ideas on paper. As well as drawing and painting, Parmigianino also experimented with printmaking, and is considered to have been the first to try the new medium of etching in Italy as well as pioneering the chiaroscuro woodcut technique.
This display will present an important group of twenty-two works by Parmigianino from The Courtauld’s collection. They include a sketch for the artist’s most ambitious painting, the Madonna of the Long Neck. Alongside it, there will be studies for his celebrated frescoes of the church of Santa Maria della Steccata in Parma, Italy – one of Parmigianino’s most significant commissions. A collaborative project which involved former and current research students at The Courtauld, the display and its accompanying catalogue will shed light on an artist who approached every technique with unprecedented freedom and produced innovative works which were studied and admired by artists and collectors in his lifetime and for centuries thereafter.
Traces: Renaissance Drawings for Flemish Prints
18 June – Autumn 2022
The Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery
Showcasing a selection from The Courtauld’s rich collection of works on paper, this display will explore the world of 16th century Flemish print production. It features print designs by some of the greatest Netherlandish artists of the era, including Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1525-1569) and Maerten van Heemskerck (1498 – 1574).
The display will offer a rare opportunity to see this lesser-known aspect of The Courtauld’s collection, and to delve deeper into the traces left by artists and craftsmen who created the designs for the flourishing print trade in 16th-century Antwerp, a pre-eminent international hub for the graphic arts.
Highly skilled draughtsmen produced finished designs which expert printmakers translated onto copper printing plates. In turn, these were published in great numbers by venturesome publishers who saw the economic potential in the dissemination of relatively inexpensive prints. In this way ingenious artistic ideas and elaborate motifs could travel and influence the development of art across Europe – and beyond.
Helen Saunders
13 October 2022 – January 2023
The Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery
The Courtauld Gallery will present the first monographic exhibition devoted to British abstract artist Helen Saunders (1885 – 1963) in over 25 years. It showcases a representative group of the artist’s drawings and watercolours to shed light on an artist whose contribution to the story of modern art in Britain is being newly appreciated.
One of the first British artists to pursue abstraction, Saunders was one of only two women to join the Vorticists, the radical art movement spearheaded by Wyndham Lewis that emerged in London on the eve of the First World War. Her extraordinary drawings capture both the dynamism of modern urban life and the horrors of mechanised warfare. In the years following the war she turned her back on Vorticism and pursued her own path, working in a more figurative style. Due in part to the loss of a significant portion of her oeuvre, including all of her Vorticist oil paintings, this remarkable artist fell into obscurity. Only in recent years has her work begun to be rediscovered and celebrated as an important piece of the story of British modernism.
The Courtauld’s collection of works by Saunders were gifted by her relative, the artist and writer Brigid Peppin, in 2016. This gift has transformed The Courtauld into the largest public collection of Saunders’s work in the world. At its heart is a group of six landmark works from her Vorticist period.
Visitor information
The Courtauld Gallery
Monday – Sunday, 10am – 6pm (last entry 5.15pm)
Free entry to the permanent collection (Including the Gilbert and Ildiko Butler Drawings Gallery) to Friends, students, under 18s, those in receipt of job seekers allowance, teachers, FE and HE lecturers. Additional charges apply for exhibitions in the Denise Coates Exhibition Gallery.
Full details: www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery
MEDIA CONTACTS
The Courtauld
www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/press media@courtauld.ac.uk
Bolton & Quinn
Erica Bolton | erica@boltonquinn.com | +44 (0)20 7221 5000
Dennis Chang | dennis@boltonquinn.com | +44 (0)20 7221 5000
THE COURTAULD
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN
www.courtauld.ac.uk
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NOTES TO EDITORS
About The Courtauld
The Courtauld works to advance how we see and understand the visual arts, as an internationally- renowned centre for the teaching and research of art history and a major public gallery. Founded by collectors and philanthropists in 1932, the organisation has been at the forefront of the study of art ever since through advanced research and conservation practice, innovative teaching, the renowned collection and inspiring exhibitions of its gallery, and engaging and accessible activities, education and events.
The Courtauld cares for one of the greatest art collections in the UK, presenting these works to the public at The Courtauld Gallery in central London, as well as through loans and partnerships. The Gallery is most famous for its iconic Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces – such as Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. It showcases these alongside an internationally renowned collection of works from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance through to the present day.
Academically, The Courtauld faculty is the largest community of art historians and conservators in the UK, teaching and carrying out research on subjects from creativity in late Antiquity to contemporary digital artforms – with an increasingly global focus. An independent college of the University of London, The Courtauld offers a range of degree programmes from BA to PhD in the History of Art, curating and the conservation of easel and wall paintings. Its alumni are leaders and innovators in the arts, culture and business worlds, helping to shape the global agenda for the arts and creative industries.
Founded on the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to engage with art, The Courtauld works to increase understanding of the role played by art throughout history, in all societies and across all geographies – as well as being a champion for the importance of art in the present day. This could be through exhibitions offering a chance to look closely at world-famous works; events bringing art history research to new audiences; accessible and expert short courses; digital engagement, innovative school, family and community programmes; or taking a formal qualification. The Courtauld’s ambition is to transform access to art history education by extending the horizons of what this is, and ensuring as many people as possible can benefit from the tools to better understand the visual world around us.
The Courtauld is an exempt charity and relies on generous philanthropic support to achieve its mission of advancing the understanding of the visual arts of the past and present across the world through advanced research, innovative teaching, inspiring exhibitions, programmes and collections.
The collection cared for by The Courtauld Gallery is owned by the Samuel Courtauld Trust.
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com
About AKO Foundation
The AKO Foundation was established in 2013 by Nicolai Tangen, a native Norwegian, the Founder of AKO Capital, and a graduate of the Courtauld Institute of Art. The Foundation supports charitable causes within the Arts, Education, and Climate.
The Foundation has already supported the Courtauld in a number of ways, including: sponsorship of the Egon Schiele exhibition in 2014; endowment of the Reader in 20th-century Modernism post; a major gift towards the Courtauld Connects project; and support for an annual curatorial prize for recent graduates of the Institute. The AKO Foundation is also instrumental in establishing the new Kunstsilo museum in Kristiansand, Norway, which will house the world’s largest collection of modernist Nordic art.
About Kenneth C. Griffin
Ken Griffin is the founder of Citadel, one of the world’s most successful global alternative investment firms, and Citadel Securities, one of the largest market makers in the world. Citadel’s capital partners are comprised of the world’s preeminent public, private and non-profit institutions. Citadel Securities provides liquidity to institutional and retail investors in more than 35 countries and is known for being a fierce advocate for policy changes that lead to more open, transparent, competitive and resilient markets. Griffin has been recognized as one of the top 25 philanthropists in America for his catalytic giving in areas such as education, healthcare and economic opportunity – amounting to over $1 billion in recent years.
KODE Bergen Art Museum is one of the largest art museums in the Nordic countries. KODE holds a unique combination of art museums and composers’ homes, managing over 60,000 objects spanning from the Renaissance to Contemporary art. The four art museums offer temporary exhibitions of art and design as well as extensive presentations of works by Edvard Munch, J.C. Dahl and Nikolai Astrup. The three distinctive homes of the composers Ole Bull, Harald Sæverud and Edvard Grieg organise over 400 concerts annually and offer 900 acres of parkland and nature trails. One of the art museums is The Rasmus Meyer Collection. Once the largest private art collection in Norway, it was bequeathed by Meyer’s heirs and according to his wishes, to the city of Bergen in 1917. Today, as part of KODE, the donation comprises one of the finest collections of Norwegian art from 1814–1915, the highlight being the extraordinary group of masterpieces by Edvard Munch.
