An exhibition "Modigliani, Soutine and other legends of Montparnasse" from the collection of Jonas Netter opened in the Museum of Faberge

A unique exhibition "Modigliani, Soutine and other legends of Montparnasse" was opened in the Petersburg Museum of Faberge. Thus, the museum continues its series of exhibitions of the most famous and influential artists of the XX century, within which works of Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali have already taken place.

This time, the Russian audience will see for the first time a unique collection of paintings by leading artists of the Paris school of the first third of the XX century, collected by their contemporary and patron Jonas Netter. Netter, who bought modernist painting on a par with Sergei Shchukin and Alfred Barnes, is the only Frenchman in this collection of collectors.

The exhibition will feature the most famous names and shows the main pearls of the collection of Netter: paintings by Amedeo Modigliani, Chaim Soutine, Maurice Utrillo, as well as the works of Moses Kisling, Maurice Vlaminck, Andre Derain, Suzanne Valadon and other legendary masters of Montparnasse.

A huge role in the fate of these artists was played by the first permanent buyer of their works, Jonas Netter, an entrepreneur and art lover. He began to collect his collection through a meeting with an art dealer Leopold Zborovsky, whom he met in Paris in 1915. Zborovsky began working for Netter - to communicate with artists, collect, exchange and resell their works. Relying on Netter's financial support, Zborovsky concluded agreements with artists, paid them salaries, gave money to rent workshops, purchase materials for painting and other expenses. In the same year 1915, Netter and Zborovsky signed a contract with Modigliani, according to which they paid the artist 300 francs a month, for which they received all the canvases he had created. By 1917, the monthly amount paid to the artist had grown to 500, and in 1919 - up to 1000 francs. Similar agreements existed between Netter and Zborovsky with Soutine and Utrillo. Netter's enthusiasm for their creativity, as well as the works of Moses Kisling, Suzanne Valadon, Andre Derain and other masters contributed to the emergence of demand for artists of the Paris School and formed a new segment of the art market. Jonas Netter died in 1946, leaving his family an invaluable collection of works by artists who are now recognized as the most important artists of the twentieth century. Collection Nettera more than 70 years was not available to a wide audience and only in recent years it began to show in Europe.

In total, the exhibition will feature more than 120 works by artists from the Paris School, which form the core of the unique collection of Jonas Netter.

The exhibition will last until March 25, 2018.

Address of the Museum of Faberge: St. Petersburg, embankment of the Fontanka River, 21.