EXHIBITION // REGARDS D'UN COLLECTIONNEUR // CENTRE D'ART - HOTEL DE CAUMONT // AIX EN PROVENCE

© Hôtel de Caumont - Regards d’un collectionneur

Regards d’un collectionneur, Caillebotte, Vallotton, Lempicka, Valadon, Picasso, Renoir, Manet… du 07 Nov au 22 Mars 2026

Hôtel de Caumont - Centre d'Art
3 Rue Joseph Cabassol
13100 Aix-en-Provence

 www.caumont-centredart.com

From November 7, 2025, to March 22, 2026, Caumont-Centre d’Art presents an exceptional exhibition bringing together works from the collection of Oscar Ghez, a Tunisian-born industrialist and passionate art collector. Through a chronological and thematic journey, visitors are invited to trace the evolution of French painting at the turn of the 20th century.

A unique journey through modern art

The exhibition offers a rich exploration of the major movements that shaped modern art. The School of Paris, the Nabis, Neo-Impressionism, and Cubism—all are represented through the paintings collected by Oscar Ghez, which embody the boldness and diversity of one of the most inventive periods in art history.

Through chromatic experiments, portraits, and genre scenes, the works selected by Ghez reveal different chapters of history, from the end of the Second Empire to the interwar period, also evoking the beginnings of industrialization.

After discovering the sensitive realism of the Impressionists with Le Pont de l'Europe by Gustave Caillebotte, let yourself be captivated by the bold pointillism of Maximilien Luce and the striking precision of Vallotton. Then marvel at the vibrant intensity of the Fauves, through works such as Manguin’s Nu au canapé bleu or Dufy’s Le Marché à Marseille. Conclude your journey by admiring the creative power of Cubism, with masterpieces like Picasso’s L'Aubade.

Art in the service of peace: the singular vision of a collector

A visionary driven by insatiable curiosity and a deep appreciation for pictorial innovation, Oscar Ghez championed artists who were little known in his time—many of whom would later become key figures in modern art history.

From early on, he highlighted the work of women painters such as Suzanne Valadon (Nude on a Red Sofa), Tamara de Lempicka (Perspective), and Marie Bracquemond (On the Terrace at Sèvres), anticipating by decades the renewed attention these long-overlooked artists receive today.

Guided by his humanist conviction that “art is a universal language,” Ghez also paid tribute to numerous Jewish artists who perished during the Holocaust, donating 137 of their works to the University of Haifa in 1978.

Why visit the exhibition on Oscar Ghez’s collection at Caumont-Centre d’Art ?

- A collection featuring nearly 60 masterpieces by 38 different artists;

- A captivating journey through Western art at the dawn of the 20th century;

-The discovery of a remarkable figure in modern collecting, who amassed over 5,000 works of art in just 30 years.

Offering a true voyage through a flourishing artistic era, this exhibition devoted to Oscar Ghez’s collection explores the role of the collector as a key figure in art history and invites visitors to reconsider what deserves to be preserved and celebrated.