A truly unique collection has made its way to the High Museum of Art, including the works of Cézanne, van Gogh, Pissarro, Degas, Manet, Gauguin, Soutine, Modigliani and more. It's on view tomorrow, Oct. 25, until Jan. 11, 2015 and is called "Cézanne and the Modern: Masterpieces of European Art from the Pearlman Collection."
Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the High Museum, David Brenneman calls Cézanne "the father of modern art" and curated this exhibit to best display the collection's unique pieces, which includes 16 of Cézanne's watercolors. Watercolors are rarely shown because of their fragility, and Daniel Edelman, president of the Pearlman Foundation and grandson of Henry Pearlman, says the collection first travelled together in 1974 and their visit to the High is the first time since. The watercolors will likely never be shown together again.
Several of the High's pieces from their own collection have been added adjacent to the exhibit, in conjunction with the seven works of Soutine in the exhibition. The five portraits by Soutine are from their Lewis Collection, meaning "Cézanne and the Modern: Masterpieces of European Art from the Pearlman Collection" features the greatest amount of works by this artist ever on view at the High.
Henry Pearlman was not a trained collector, but instead fell into collecting during his life and was self-taught. Edelman says of his grandfather that he was not extravagant and when he traveled, it was for the sake of art. He says, "We did not inherit these works of art, we inherited the responsibility to them."
Also included in the exhibit is "Make a Joyful Noise": Renaissance Art and Music at Florence Cathedral, featuring three marble panels from Italian sculptor Luca della Robbia's famed organ loft--the glory of the Florence Cathedral. della Robbia worked for seven years on the project, producing 10 exquisitely detailed panels that depict the text of Psalm 150 and the jubilant singing children it describes.
