QUÉBEC, Sept. 8, 2023 /CNW/ - Tribute to Rosa Luxemburg (L'Hommage à Rosa Luxemburg), an iconic work by artist Jean Paul Riopelle (1923–2002) showcased at the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ), will represent Canada in an exhibition taking place alongside the G20 Summit, which starts today in India. It will be presented digitally in all its glory, and as suggested by the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation, an excerpt from Serge Fiori and Blair Thomson's musical creation, Riopelle symphonique, has been proposed to be in synchronicity with the image, thanks to the collaboration of GSI Musique.
Tribute to Rosa Luxemburg was chosen to feature in the G20 Digital Museum exhibition, organized by the Indian government's Department of Culture, which asked all G20 member countries—as well as the nine guest countries—to select a significant work of art. This unique platform gives Riopelle and his monumental fresco even more international exposure, enabling the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation and the MNBAQ to add this event to the celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of this major figure in art history.
On display in New Delhi until November 9, 2023, the exhibition not only showcases this masterpiece of Canadian art, but also a number of artifacts and works from around the world, including the digital version of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre, in France.
Created in 1992 and acquired by the MNBAQ in 1996, Tribute to Rosa Luxemburg is the largest work ever created by Jean Paul Riopelle. This narrative sequence of 30 paintings, grouped in a triptych over 40 m long, takes pride of place in three custom-designed galleries in the Pierre Lassonde Pavilion in Québec City.
Riopelle created this iconic work at his Île-aux-Oies studio in November 1992, after receiving news that his former partner of 25 years, American painter Joan Mitchell (1926–1992), had died in Paris.
Produced in part using spray paint, Tribute to Rosa Luxemburg reads like a succession of paintings depicting animals, surrounded by the silhouettes (and occasionally shapes) of a plethora of everyday objects. Its pictorial effects are stunning and its colours create an ethereal feel. The work as a whole exudes the grandness for which Riopelle is known since the 1950s—grandness which reaches new heights here in what could be described as a vast painted narrative.
This remarkable opportunity for Tribute to Rosa Luxemburg to take centre stage in India coincides with the construction of the Espace Riopelle, a building with a unique architecture designed to showcase this national masterpiece for generations to come. Located on the majestic Plains of Abraham, the custom-built backdrop and crown jewel of the museum complex's newest pavilion is made possible by the combined contributions of the Government of Québec, the Jean Paul Riopelle Foundation, and the City of Québec.
The Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec is a state corporation funded by the Gouvernement du Québec.
Jean Paul Riopelle. Tribute to Rosa Luxemburg
Exhibition of the MNBAQ collections
Carrefour par CGI
SOURCE Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec
418 643-2150 or 1 866 220-2150, mnbaq.org
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