by Arietta Pouliou*
83 masterpieces, 45 leading figures of modern and contemporary art, 15 artistic movements, brought together in a singular visual panorama
Like a thread that begins with Monet’s «Water Lilies» and leads all the way to Lichtenstein’s «Water Lily Pond with Reflections», encompassing 81 further compelling works along the way, the exhibition -opened to the public on December 6 at the Athens museum of the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation- offers a rare opportunity to encounter, gathered in one place, works that shaped the most defining moments in art over the past 130 years and more. It is an exceptionally rare occasion, as «From Monet to Warhol» is made possible through the generous loan of a Swiss private collection, assembled with unwavering passion for modern painting by three generations of collectors.
Much like the Foundation’s permanent collection -a body of work carefully and devotedly built by Basil and Elise Goulandris over the course of nearly fifty years, reflecting their personal preferences and aesthetic sensibilities- this international-standard temporary exhibition is likewise grounded in a collection that masterfully combines the collectors’ personal vision and refined taste with the coherence and breadth that characterise the world’s most important private collections. What unites the two collecting families is their shared desire to make their passion for art accessible to as many people as possible. As a result, today’s visitor witnesses an informal dialogue between the two collections, grasps the importance of each collector’s eye and intuition, and cannot help but admire the impulse to narrate the history of art through carefully chosen works. It is a genuine journey through the evolution of modern art, introducing the viewer to approximately fifteen landmark movements -some immediately recognisable, others less so- that defined its course.
This is a mental voyage, rich in striking imagery: a sweeping overview of modern art from the 1880s to the present day, a condensed passage from Impressionist France to Pop Art America, narrated by 45 major figures of modern and contemporary art and punctuated by 83 of their masterpieces. Each work carries its own story, forming part of its creator’s artistic trajectory while simultaneously reflecting the constant shifts in perspective, colour, and representation within its historical context. This reconstitution of one of the most fertile periods in the history of painting -fascinating despite its inherently subjective, collector-driven viewpoint- begins with Impressionism, specifically the period following the final Impressionist exhibition of 1886, and unfolds through seminal movements, currents, and tendencies: Symbolism, Neo-Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Japonisme, Synthetism, the Nabis, Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art.
Their representatives include iconic figures of late 19th and 20th century art such as Bonnard, Chagall, De Kooning, Degas with his dynamic «Washerwomen», Dufy, Ernst, Gauguin, Kandinsky, Lichtenstein -five of whose works form the exhibition’s epilogue- Magritte, represented by an optimistic work expressing his desire for a brighter pictorial language, Man Ray, Marquet, Matisse with one of his most characteristic portraits, Modigliani, Monet, Morisot, the first great Expressionist Munch, Picasso -among whose works on display is the engraving «The Frugal Repast», currently the most expensive in the world- Pissarro, the elder statesman of the Impressionist group, Seurat, presented in Greece for the first time, Signac with eight works from the family’s extensive collection, Toulouse-Lautrec, Vuillard, and Warhol. They are accompanied by artists less familiar to the general public yet equally significant and influential, such as Angrand, with a movingly simple depiction of motherhood, Anquetin, whose Montmartre scenes pulsate with colour, Denis, Feininger, Friesz, Hayet, Lacombe, Laugé with the captivating, vibrant «The Flowering Tree», Pourtau, Ranson, Redon -represented by the radiant pastel «Fertility, Woman in the Flowers», a remarkable meditation on youth as a source of abundance and renewal, Sérusier, Szafran, Vallotton, whose exquisite landscapes allow their tiny figures to recede so that nature itself may be glorified, and others.
What makes the exhibition even more compelling is the dialogue that unfolds between the artists, with or without the direct prompt of specific works. One such exchange takes place between Camille Pissarro and Paul Signac: the modernity of Pissarro’s «Flock of Sheep» so captivated Signac that he immediately acquired the work and kept it in his studio thereafter. A similar dialogue emerges between Picasso and Matisse -both resistant to strict alignment with any single movement of their time, and united by a simplicity of execution that serves to heighten expressive power. In a sense, Lichtenstein, too, measures himself against his teacher Picasso. In his major 1974 work «Portrait Triptych», presented in the final section of the exhibition, a female portrait rendered in his instantly recognisable idiom is first approached through a Cubist lens and then reduced to pure abstraction. Only the consistency of dimensions, palette, and motifs allows the original figure to be mentally reconstructed. Lichtenstein’s admiration for Monet -one of the artists he deeply revered-, becomes equally evident in his own interpretation of one of Monet’s most beloved subjects. The way each artist rendered water lilies on canvas -the tribute paid by a great modern artist to a master of Impressionism- both opens and closes the exhibition’s narrative arc, leading us to the realization that for representatives of every new artistic movement, the presence of the great masters is ubiquitous, and that every new contribution to art draws from a shared and enduring heritage.
Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation: 13 Eratosthenous str., Athens – 116 35, Greece – Untill 11 April 2026
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*Arietta Pouliou is a Travel journalist, Fashion lover, Foodie, Dreamer, Arts and Sculptures lover, Ice cream addict, Wine enthusiast, you name it. A great contributor to allaboutshipping.co.uk on very special issues accompanied by great photos!
