THE BARBIER-MUELLER COLLECTIONS -110 years of passion

These masterworks from civilizations around the world (antique and tribal art, modern and contemporary painting, coin collections, bibliophilia) are exhibited in the Grand Palais on the occasion of La Biennale Paris.

Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller passed away at the end of 2016, at the moment when his museum was about to celebrate its 40th anniversary in Geneva, and when, in Paris, La Biennale Paris was preparing itself to celebrate his family’s passionate collections.

The art book that will accompany the exhibition at the Grand Palais will allow visitors to discover how a taste for art, letters, history and world cultures was passed down from generation to generation. This inherited passion inspired the Barbier-Mueller to compose an ensemble of works that constitute a tremendous homage to universal beauty.

Monique Barbier-Mueller herself recalls the formidable artistic adventure she lived beside her father, and then her husband, and which her children continue to pursue today with great ardor: Gabriel, Thierry, and Stéphane, as well as her grand-daughter Diane. Beyond the value of the works themselves, the history of their acquisition is a veritable exploration of the universe of art and of its most passionate collectors.

From Ferdinand Holder to Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons, from coins from the Russian empire to Samurai armors, from an antique Greek statue to an original book from Molière’s École des femmes and including invaluable works of primitive art from Africa and Oceania, the encyclopedic character of the Barbier-Mueller collections offers an extraordinary journey through time, space, and the human spirit.