Until June 1, 2025, the masterpieces of the Petit Palais Geneva - a particularly original Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection - can be seen in a grandiose exhibition at the Fondation de l'Hermitage.
This collection, assembled by Oscar Ghez since the 1950s, bears witness to a remarkably free collector's spirit. In fact, the industrialist of Tunisian origin was interested in painting from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, without limiting his selection to the great masters. He acquired magnificent paintings by Édouard Manet and Auguste Renoir, as well as splendid works by lesser-known artists of the time such as Gustave Caillebotte, Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen, Charles Angrand, Maximilien Luce and Louis Valtat, some of whom have since become icons. Oscar Ghez also bought many works by women painters such as Marie Bracquemond, Jeanne Hébuterne, Nathalie Kraemer, Tamara de Lempicka and Suzanne Valadon, long before their careers were explored and finally recognized.
Marie Bracquemond, on the terrace in Sévres, 1880, oil on canvas, Association of Friends of the Petit Palais, Geneva, Monique Bernaz photo studio, Geneva
Five works are offered in the exhibition rooms as audio descriptions using QR codes. These paintings, selected by people with visual impairments, represent both the collection of the Petit Palais in Geneva and the exhibition. This audio guide is aimed at anyone who would like to see the works in full on their journey of discovery. Whether to meet specific visual perception needs or to enrich their visit with detailed descriptions. This project, conceived by the Fondation de l'Hermitage, was made possible thanks to the support and expertise of the association L'Art d'include and the Bibliothèque Sonore Romande.
January 24 to June 1, 2025
Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen, The Apotheosis of the Cats on Montmartre, c. 1885, oil on canvas, Association of the Friends of the Petit Palais, Geneva, Monique Bernaz photo studio, Geneva
Fondation de l'Hermitage
In 1841, the Lausanne banker Charles-Juste Bugnion and his wife Jeanne Marie Chatelanat bought the land of the Hermitage, which was situated on a hill above the city. Between 1851 and 1853, they had a manor house built there that was characterized by its openness to the outside, which was a novelty at the time. The windows and bay windows are large and let in plenty of light. They allow visitors to be in constant communication with the surrounding nature. The elegant balconies on the south façade and the wide side loggias, which harmoniously combine carved stone and cast iron, underline the importance of the viewpoint in the construction of the residence, which was conceived as a true belvedere.
In 1976, the Bugnion family bequeathed the house and part of the park to the city of Lausanne. At the same time, a private foundation was set up to promote this beautiful 19th century mansion and ensure the development of a high-caliber museum in the field of fine arts.
Since 1984, the Hermitage Foundation has presented temporary exhibitions and occasionally shows a selection from its own collections.
The works housed at the Fondation de l'Hermitage come mainly from donations, bequests and deposits that have been received spontaneously since the museum opened in 1984. The collection now comprises over 800 works, some of which are regularly requested as external loans to other museums in Switzerland and abroad. As an echo of the temporary exhibitions, presentations of the collection are occasionally organized in the underground gallery inaugurated in 2003 and in the Salon Bleu on the second floor of the museum, a room also dedicated to the history of the Bugnion family and the residence.
The collection of the Foundation for Art and Culture, which is entirely housed in the Fondation de l'Hermitage, includes important works by artists from Vaud and French-speaking Switzerland, such as René Auberjonois, Ernest Biéler, François Bocion, Marius Borgeaud, Gustave Buchet, Raoul Domenjoz, Ferdinand Hodler, Jean Lecoultre, Gérard de Palézieux, Léopold Robert, Steven-Paul Robert, Pietro Sarto, Louis Soutter and Félix Vallotton.
The remarkable collection of Chinese porcelain by the collector Marie Vergottis (1914-1999) is housed in the Fondation de l'Hermitage. This collection of ceramics comprises 400 pieces of exceptional quality, a selection of which is on display in the basement of the museum.
https://fondation-hermitage.ch/de/
