Chronic. Can economic sanctions against Russia affect culture? The question is on the table at a time when the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris is hosting the exhibition of the collection put together at the turn of the 20th century.and century by the Russian brothers Mikhail and Ivan Morozov, i.e. 200 modern paintings, and not the least. This event, scheduled until April 3, is part of Russian “soft power”, because it could only be mounted with the blessing of Vladimir Putin himself. Who has just switched to “hard power”.
“If one question should remain open, it is culture”, declared the Moscow autocrat in 2016, when the war in Syria and the Ukrainian question – already – froze friendship with France. The Fondation Louis Vuitton had just opened another Russian exhibition, the collection of Sergei Chtchoukine, as part of a Franco-Russian year, of which another high point was the inauguration in Paris of the Orthodox cathedral and center cultural center, entirely financed by Moscow.
Not to mention the donation by the oligarch Vladimir Potanin of more than 250 works from his collection to the Center Pompidou. This cultural group shot, not to mention other zakouski, had caused this pretty title of Opinion “France and Russia can only see each other in painting. »
How far is the opening tenable? As Ukraine is bombed and Putin hears “denazify” this country, the foundation of Bernard Arnault, boss of the luxury group LVMH, is embarrassed to say the least. Its management has let us know that it does not intend, at this stage, to suspend the exhibition. More than Russia, it is the visitors who would be penalized. But the foundation adds that it does not close its eyes, that it is waiting to see the evolution of the conflict and what the Elysée will decide.
dazzling art
Still, the war in Ukraine showers euphoria. The Morozov collection has already attracted more than a million visitors in five months, making it by far the most popular exhibition in France. Visiting slots are already well filled for the coming month, to the point that free night openings are being considered. No doubt the objective is to exceed the Chtchoukine collection, which totaled 1.3 million admissions in 2017, which would make Morozov the most visited exhibition of all time in France. What’s more, in a context of the Covid-19 pandemic and constrained gauges – the feat would not be small.
The Louis Vuitton Foundation has a private status, giving the exhibition a less symbolic charge than if it took place in a State museum. Above all, the clash has nothing “poutinien”. It’s all about art – dazzling art. The paintings are signed Matisse, Gauguin, Cézanne, Manet, Monet, Van Gogh or Picasso, associated with Russian artists; enough to seal the friendship between two countries.
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