The painter Pierre Soulages announced "a new and important donation" to the museum dedicated to his work in Rodez, his hometown in Aveyron. It includes in particular a large painting on canvas of 2019, the year of its 100 years, said the prefecture of Occitania on Thursday.
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The master of the outrenoir sent a "letter of donation" to the prefect of the region, Etienne Guyot, said the prefecture in a press release. The museum will thus acquire "five paintings on canvas marking their time from 1949 to the most recent" , a 390x130 cm canvas dating from March 2019, "17 paintings on paper" dating from the 1940s and 1950s and a vase made by the Manufacture de Sèvres, the artist's only ceramic creation, which will be presented at the museum during the month of July.
With the exception of the most recent, four of the five paintings on canvas are already on deposit at the Musée de Rodez, as are the paintings on paper from the 1940s and 1950s, "an extraordinary collection which perfectly complements the previous donation and made the Museum Relieve the reference museum for this founding period " of the artist, noted the prefecture.
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Étienne Guyot was delighted "with this important donation for the attractiveness and for the cultural influence of Occitania" . Dedicated to one of the most famous French contemporary artists in the world, the Soulages museum, opened in May 2014, owes its existence to a first donation of 250 works and as many documents to his hometown, in 2005.