The Blue Penny Museum is displaying, from April 15 to June 11 2022, the works of the famous French painter Henri Matisse. The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, thus inaugurated the Matisse Exhibition, on Friday evening, at the Blue Penny Museum, Le Caudan Waterfront, in Port-Louis. Admission to the exhibition is free and is being held as part of the bicentenary birth commemoration of the poet Charles Baudelaire.
The Chief Government Whip, Mrs Naveena Ramyad, the curator of the Blue Penny Museum, Mr Emmanuel Richon, the Director of Samskara Fine Art, Mr Steve Sowamy, and other personalities were present at the inauguration ceremony. The current exhibition is a joint cultural initiative of Mr Richon and Mr Sowamy who had, in 2019, also collaborated to showcase the works of Picasso at the Blue Penny Museum.
In his address, the Prime Minister lauded the Blue Penny Museum for proposing such a high-profile cultural event in Mauritius. Despite the numerous challenges faced by museums across the world amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blue Penny Museum has been successful in organising an exhibition to commemorate the bicentenary birth anniversary of the great poet Charles Baudelaire and at the same time valorise the works of art of the talented painter Henri Matisse, he highlighted.
The Prime Minister further recalled some of the major works of both Charles Baudelaire and Henri Matisse and paid tribute to their immense contributions in the spheres of literature, arts and culture. These two geniuses of literature and the arts still guide, in our present time, young foreign and Mauritian artists alike in their quest of creativity and innovation, he emphasised.
In addition, Mr Jugnauth congratulated the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) and other partners for their efforts in the dissemination of culture and for the democratisation of the cultural space in Mauritius. He likewise expressed gratitude to the different public and private institutions which are making remarkable efforts to promote culture by providing assistance and funding to those people wishing to publish their works or to organise art exhibitions. We all have to promote the various languages, cultures, literary styles and visual arts that coexist in harmony in Mauritius, he added. The Prime Minister moreover reaffirmed his commitment in endorsing such cultural initiatives.
It is recalled that Charles Beaudelaire visited Mauritius in 1841 and the exhibition is a tribute for the bicentenary of his birth.
The exhibition, supported by the MCB and other partners, is therefore presenting about fifty authentic works of Henri Matisse. Some of these works are very rare and the paintings on display have an estimated value of around six million Euros.
The exhibition will be open to the public from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 hours to 16:30 hours. The museum is closed on Sundays and public holidays.
The Blue Penny Museum endeavours to organise regular temporary exhibitions to renew the interest of its visitors and to make an effective contribution to the dissemination of knowledge regarding the history and art of Mauritius.
