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Petit Palais de Geneve Museum, Switzerland

Petit Palais de Geneve Museum

Petit Palais de Geneve Museum founded by Oscar Ghez di Castlenuovo (1905 - 1998) is the private collection museum that houses 5,000 pieces of art, mainly paintings but also drawings and sculptures. The collection focuses on Montmartre, Belle Époque, impressionist, post-impressionist and the School of Paris artists who were overlooked by the experts and consistently neglected in the past by art historians. The museum was opened by Oscar in 1968 and received public until his death in 1998. Currently, the museum is closed. The present owner of the collection is Oscar's son, Claude Ghez, a neurobiology scientist in Columbia University, who lives and works in New York City, the USA.

The Building of the Museum

The building of the museum, situated in an elegant district of Les Tranches in Geneva close to The Old Town, dates back to 1862. It was designed and built by the local architect, Samuel Darier (1808-1884) in the style of the Second Empire. Originally the mansion had two floors only, but in 1967 its new owner, Oscar Ghez, added extra floors to the building with three of them being on the lower ground level. Currently the mansion has six floors. During the excavation works a piece of ancient wall of the Old Town was discovered.

The Collection

The collection housed in the Petit Palais de Geneve Museum was started by Oscar Ghez in 1950s, when after a succession of deaths of his loved ones - first his brother Henri, then his wife, and then his mother - he threw himself into new activities and was eagerly pursuing his passion of collecting. He liked visiting antique shops where he would buy old books, objects made of ivory, porcelain and Chinese jade. He was also interested in pantings. At first, his interest was mainly directed at Italian painters from the years between the two World Wars and selected 19th century French artists, including Jean-Jacques Henner.

Later in the period, Oscar concentrated on the painters of Montmartre and the Belle Epoque such as Maurice Utrillo, Quizet, and Théophile Steinlen.

Facade of the Petit Palais de Geneve Museum

'He often used to gaze at the painting 'The Ball on 14 July' which gave him particular pleasure.' - Claude Ghez, the son of Oscar Ghez

Then his choice shifted to the Neo- and Post-impressionists, and then to les Fauves and Kees van Dongen.

'The Old Clown by Kees van Dongen always moved him deeply.' - Claude Ghez, the son of Oscar Ghez

Oscar acquired paintings for his collection at the galleries in Paris or wherever the business took him, as well as from painters themselves. Some of the painters he met in person – Kees Van Dongen, Foujita, Mante-Katz and Moïse Kisling (School of Paris). Sometimes, Oscar would buy artists' whole ateliers. Quickly, the paintings piled up in his houses in Lyon, France, and Geneva, Switzerland. To keep track of the Oscar's art purchases, his sister, Odette, made up lists of his purchases.

In his purchasing decisions, Oscar was guided by his own taste, refusing to purchase what experts of the time recommended. This lead him to discover those masters who were neglected by public at large – Gustave Caillebotte, Charles Angrand, Valtaf as well as female artists such as Marie Bracquemond, Mary Cassatt, and Bertie Morisot whom history of art systematically ignored.

In 1960 Oscar sold his factories to a German group and devoted his time and energy to his collection. in 1965 he bought a private mansion close to the Old Town og Geneva and in three years opened a museum - the Petit Palais de Geneve.

Considering that art is a universal language Oscar also made great efforts to have his collection displayed in museums around the world - New York, Moscow, Tokyo, Tel Aviv.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the United Nations, Oscar Ghez organised a special event celebrating the painters of the whole world. For the occasion he devised a slogan: ' Art at the service of Peace', which became the underlying principle of his collection.

From 1972, Oscar was assisted in his work by his second wife, Nicole. During the 30 years of it operations the Petit Palais de Geneve Museum mounted more than 30 exhibitions showing not only the works from its collection but also works of young and more established artists. In total the museum received more than 600,000 visitors.

'Although it is true that he was not indifferent to the possibility that the works he had collected might increase in value he was above all motivated by the enthusiasm he felt for his chosen artists. He never harboured any doubts about his choices: they were his passion. And so he continued to follow this policy until the end of his life, trying to acquire more beautiful works or to sell those that to him no longer seemed necessary.' - Claude Ghez, the son of Oscar Ghez

Location of the Museum

The museum is located in the Geneva district of Les Tranchees, the area of small art museums and also the History and Art Museum of Geneva (Musée d'art et d'histoire). The district is famous for its elegant 19th century town houses.

Statement of the Mayor of Geneva

' I deeply regret the long-term closure of this valuable institution, which has great paintings and other pieces of art. It is located in an area with a range of public and private museums and it would therefore be great if it did reopen, somehow, or find another way to make those pieces visible for a public audience. On the side of the City, we are presently working hard to design a new renovation and extension project for our main public institution, the "Musée d'art et d'histoire", located close to the Petit Palais. Shortly after taking my mandate, in 2011, I took some contacts to figure out what the intentions of the owners were, but without clear answer about the future. ' - Sami Kanaan, Mayor of Geneva (2018)

Links

1. Petit Palais de Geneve Museum
2. Ville de Geneve
3. Musée d'art et d'histoire
4. Library of Musée d'art et d'histoire