�douard Manet (1832-1883), The Piper, 1866, Oil on canvas, Paris, Mus�e d�Orsay, � Mus�e d�Orsay / P. Schmidt

Impressionism: A Modern Renaissance Fundaci�n Mapfre, Madrid 14 January - 22 April 2010 Admission Free

From 14 January � 22 April 2010 Fundaci�n Mapfre, Madrid, will present a major FREE exhibition, including more than ninety paintings from the Mus�e D�Orsay in Paris, which will show Impressionism in a startling new light.

The exhibition will include celebrated works by the great artists of Impressionism, Manet, Monet, Degas, C�zanne and more, but it will set these in the context of the myriad other currents of French art at the time. Seeing the exhibition in Madrid, in close proximity to the Prado, visitors will also be made aware of the relationship of Impressionism to Spanish art, through the influence of Velazquez and Goya.

Impressionism was the most important French artistic movement of the nineteenth century, revolutionising the western tradition. But was it as isolated as it is usually seen to be? This exhibition, curated by St�phane Gu�gan and Alice Thomine of the Musee D�Orsay, challenges the conventional vision of the movement as a radical rupture with the traditional art of the time. It will present a new way of looking at Impressionism by studying the full artistic spectrum of its period, something that has never before been attempted in an exhibition.

Impressionism: A Modern Renaissance will show how the Impressionist revolution was built from a variety of components: the Spanish influence of Goya and Velazquez on artists such as Manet and Whistler; the Batignolles school, with Manet at the centre and which included Monet and Renoir; the emergence of new views of women, in the art of female painters like Berthe Morisot as well as male ones such as Tissot; the legacy of the naturalism of Courbet and Millet, but also their continuing influence on the Salon. The exhibition will show too that even the Salon was evolving, freeing itself from the narrow diktat of the Ecole des Beaux Arts. The slick eroticism of the Salon nude will be seen with the frank sexuality of Courbet, the refined and exotic sensualism of Gustave Moreau, and the voluptuous women of Renoir. All will rub shoulders with Impressionism's new worship of urban reality, nature, colour and light.

Manet will be presented as one of the main drivers of the movement, as it emerged during the 1870s. The disaster of France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1 and the bloody suppression of the revolutionary Paris Commune that followed brought a powerful need for national renewal. The result was a modern renaissance, with Impressionism at its cultural heart. In 1880 the Salon was finally cut free from state control, marking the rise of a more open art world and a major turning point in the history of modern art.

Fundaci�n Mapfre

Fundaci�n Mapfre is a private Spanish cultural foundation. It is affiliated to the insurance group Mapfre. Created in 1975, its mission is to teach and promote culture, art and literature in Spain and South America. Fundaci�n Mapfre organises numerous conferences, courses, prizes and exhibitions. It has also formed a rich permanent collection of Hispanic works of art including strong holdings of nineteenth-century drawings, works by the international avant-garde of the twentieth century, and contemporary photography.

In October 2008, Fundaci�n Mapfre opened a permanent exhibition space in a newly converted historic building in Madrid, on the Paseo del Arte - the famous Madrid art trail. This puts Fundaci�n Mapfre in the centre of the capital's art world, next door to the Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the Reina Sofia Art Centre, and the amazing new Fundaci�n Caixa museum. It is in this new home that Impressionism: A Modern Renaissance will be held. The exhibition will be free of charge.

Exhibition Tour

The exhibition will travel to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco de Young Museum, San Francisco (22 May � 6 September 2010) then to the Frist Center for Visual Arts, Nashville (14 October 2010 � 23 January 2011).

For more information, images and interviews, please contact : Kate Burvill E : kateburvill@gmail.com T : 020 7226 7824 M : 07947 754 717

Notes to Editors

Sections of the Exhibition

� The Triumph of Manet � Hispanicism in Paris � The Batignolles School � The Terrible Year: 1870-1871 � Realism: The Legacy of Millet and Courbet � The Salon: Traditionalists and Moderns � Monet, Renoir, Sisley � Pissarro and C�zanne � Women Painters; Painted women � Degas: Seizing Modern Life � Manet Between Impressionism and the Salon

Catalogue

A comprehensive scholarly catalogue will reproduce all works in the exhibition and will include texts by St�phane Gu�gan and Alice Thomine, the co-curators, and by Dominique Lobstein, Pablo Jim�nez Burillo, Mar�a L�pez Fern�ndez, and Krista Brugnara y Lynn Federle. The principal essays are 'The Persistence of Manet: Conquest and Death of the Salon' by St�phane Gu�gan, and 'Secret Affinities: Painting and Architecture in Paris in the Nineteenth Century', by Alice Thomine. Other texts cover many key aspects of the movement and the period, including 'The Triumph of Manet, the Spanish Parisian'; 'The School of Batignolles';'The Terrible Year: 1870-1871'; 'Realisms: The Legacy of Millet and Courbet'; The Salon: Traditionalists and Moderns'; and 'Manet: Between Impressionism and the Salon'.

Practical Information

Dates : 14 January � 22 April 2010

Address Fundaci�n Mapfre, Paseo de Recoletos 23, 28004 Madrid, Spain T�l�phone : +34 91 581 61 00

Opening Hours Monday : 14.00 to 20.00 Tuesday - Saturday : 10.00 to 20.00 Sunday and Public Holidays: 12.00 to 20.00

For more information, images and interviews, please contact : Kate Burvill E : kateburvill@gmail.com T : 020 7226 7824 M : 07947 754 717