The collection of the Paris Museum of Modern Art (MAM) is set to be significantly enriched by an exceptional donation of 61 works by Henri Matisse. This remarkable gift comes from Barbara Dauphin Duthuit, wife of Claude Duthuit, the celebrated painter’s grandson. The ensemble comprises seven paintings, one sculpture, twenty-eight drawings, eight etchings, six lithographs, five original posters, and six illustrated books.
A Daughter’s Legacy: Marguerite Matisse at the Heart of the Donation
The majority of the donated works are portraits of Marguerite Matisse, Henri Matisse’s eldest daughter and his preferred model. These pieces were largely featured in the exhibition “Matisse and Marguerite, a Father’s Gaze,” hosted by the museum from April 4 to August 24, 2025. The museum’s press release highlights that the exhibition offered “the public an unprecedented understanding of Marguerite’s major role in Matisse’s work and career.”
Fabrice Hergott, director of the MAM, expressed his gratitude, stating, “This extraordinarily generous gesture demonstrates a strong commitment on the part of Madame Duthuit, and her confidence in the museum, which thus becomes Marguerite’s new home for decades and centuries to come.”
A Glimpse into a Tender Relationship
The donation, which spans “the first half of the 20th century,” illuminates “each period of the tender and complicit face-to-face between the painter and his model, from images of childhood… to the moving portraits made in 1945 when Marguerite had just escaped deportation for acts of Resistance,” according to the museum’s document.
The collection includes paintings, drawings, and prints depicting Marguerite “posing in a Scottish coat on the balcony in Nice, and during her convalescence in Étretat in 1920.” The painting “Marguerite endormie” (Marguerite Asleep) is among these works. The original posters and illustrated books (1944-1954), “dedicated by Matisse to Marguerite,” evoke her essential role in assisting her father’s printers, while also testifying to the painter’s boundless creative richness until his death.
Expanding the Museum’s Matisse Collection
The donation also features a drawn portrait of Claude, the only son of Marguerite and her husband Georges Duthuit. These 61 works will complement the twenty pieces already held by the museum, which include “two monumental versions” of “La Danse,” permanently displayed.
This is not Barbara Dauphin Duthuit’s first significant contribution to French art institutions. She previously donated the renowned “Marguerite au chat noir” (Marguerite with Black Cat), a painting created by Matisse in 1910, to the Centre Pompidou.
The Significance of the Donation
This remarkable acquisition further solidifies the Musée d’art moderne de Paris’s position as a leading institution for the study and appreciation of Henri Matisse’s oeuvre. The depth and breadth of the donated works, particularly their focus on Marguerite Matisse, offer invaluable insights into the artist’s personal life and creative process. Art historians and the general public alike will benefit from this comprehensive collection, which provides a unique narrative of Matisse’s artistic journey through the lens of his beloved daughter.
The donation underscores the enduring legacy of Henri Matisse and the profound impact of his family on his artistic output. It also highlights the continued generosity of private collectors in enriching public art institutions, ensuring that masterpieces remain accessible for future generations.
Source: https://www.franceinfo.fr/culture/arts-expos/peinture/le-musee-d-art-moderne-de-paris-recoit-une-donation-exceptionnelle-de-61-uvres-d-henri-matisse_7672675.html
