An exhibition brings the Seine's finest art to the Huangpu River's banks, Zhang Kun reports.

A key exhibition Paths to Modernity: Masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay, Paris will run from Thursday to Oct 12 at the Museum of Art Pudong in Shanghai, unveiling the largest showcase of the Musee d'Orsay in China. It will present 107 masterpieces from some of the most representative creations of such masters as Van Gogh, Millet, Manet, Monet and Renoir.

The two paintings by Vincent van Gogh (1853-90) and Jean Francois Millet (1814-75) are the first artworks to arrive in Shanghai for the upcoming exhibition, which will be presented at the museum in Shanghai only. They were unpacked at the venue on Monday.

Among the first paintings to arrive: La Chambre de Van Gogh a Arles (Van Gogh's Room in Arles) by Van Gogh will make its first appearance in China at the exhibition. Des glaneuses (The Gleaners) by Millet was last seen in the city at a Musee d'Orsay exhibition in China Art Museum, Shanghai in 2012.

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According to Li Minkun, deputy general manager of Shanghai Lujiazui Group and chair of MAP, it will be the largest showcase from the Musee d'Orsay in China, tailor-made for MAP.

Exhibits will include most of the Impressionist masters, Li says. Another Van Gogh painting that will be presented is Self Portrait created in 1887.

"Like The Gleaners by Millet, these are paintings we are long familiar with, since we see them in schoolbooks," Li says.

The exhibition also will have some of the most representative creations of such masters as Manet, Monet and Renoir. These artworks will occupy exhibition halls spread across two stories of MAP.

"If you check the list of its most important artworks on the official website of the d'Orsay, you will find almost a quarter of them have been taken off the wall and shipped to MAP," she says.

She reveals that the total insured value of these artworks exceeds 10 billion yuan ($1.39 billion).

"So, the significance of the exhibition is evident."

As early as in 2018, when still under construction, the Shanghai museum had contacted the team of the Musee d'Orsay, hoping one day it could host a large-scale exhibition, Li says. Being an internationally recognized institution, Musee d'Orsay is widely admired by art lovers all over the world for its collection.

"We kept close contact with d'Orsay for a long time, because we wanted to have a very big exhibition and hoped d'Orsay could bring its most treasured pieces to Shanghai," she says.

Planning and preparation for this exhibition started in 2022.

"During this period of about three years, we on both sides had lots of discussions and chose these heavyweight artworks", she says.

"I am excited that the exhibition will soon become reality and be presented to the public in Shanghai."

The exhibition marks the first collaboration between the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and MAP in Shanghai, says Stephanie de Brabander, deputy director of exhibitions and head of international exhibition projects at the French museum.

"We have brought together a large number of heavyweight artworks, spanning several important art movements in the collection of d'Orsay from Neoclassicism to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism," she says.

These include 86 paintings and 21 sculptures.

A committee at the Musee d'Orsay handpicked the artworks for the exhibition in Shanghai, aiming to cover the essence of its collection while serving the main theme of the show. The exhibition is aimed at building a cultural bridge between China and France, de Brabander says.

Aside from members of the media, MAP also invited its recently appointed exhibition recommendation officers to witness the unpacking of the two paintings.

One of them was Yuan Hong, a TV and film star turned art vlogger, who has over 370,000 followers on Bilibili alone.

"I've seen MAP presenting more great exhibitions, and this time it has brought some of the most brilliant gems of human civilization from the left bank of the River Seine to the right bank of the Huangpu River in Shanghai," he says.

"For art lovers like me, this is a great opportunity to stand face-to-face with these great artworks without having to travel all the way to Paris."

A wall at the Shanghai museum leading to the exhibition hall is decorated with printed photographs so that it resembles the facade of the Musee d'Orsay, which is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a railway station and hotel on the left bank of the Seine. Upon having their photos taken in front of the wall, visitors would appear as if they're standing in front of the French museum.

"We hope the exhibition can take audiences on a trip from Shanghai to Paris," Li says.

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The exhibits will be grouped according to their styles, and the exhibition halls designed to make visitors "feel as if they have stepped into the actual Musee d'Orsay", de Brabander says.

During the exhibition, a VR experience jointly produced by the Gedeon Experiences and Musee d'Orsay will be available at MAP. Tonight with the Impressionists: Paris 1874 will take you to Paris on the evening of April 15, 1874, when about 30 independent artists put on an exhibition outside the official salon.

A virtual guide will lead visitors from one room to another during the 45-minute VR experience to explore some of the greatest Impressionist masterpieces by the likes of Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir and Paul Cezanne.

If you go

Paths to Modernity: Masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay, Paris

2&3F, Museum of Art Pudong, 2777 Binjiang Avenue, Pudong new area, Shanghai.

June 19-Oct 12, 10 am-9 pm (last admission at 8 pm).

400-820-8771.

Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn