Berthe Weill, a woman gallery owner at the time of Matisse and Picasso

Paris. “At this address, Berthe Weill (1865-1951) opened the first art gallery dedicated to young artists in 1901. His support allowed the discovery of the avant-garde of modern painting. » It was on February 7, 2012 that the Paris town hall decided to place a commemorative plaque at 25, rue Victor-Massé, in the 9th arrondissement, where Berthe Weill had inaugurated her first gallery – subsequently she would have three other addresses.

It was about time, because, unlike his male colleagues – the art dealers Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Léonce Rosenberg or Ambroise Vollard – Weill was only entitled to a folding seat in the pantheon of art history. Is it her status as a woman, or the absence of sufficient capital to maintain star artists like Picasso and Matisse, which explains this limited notoriety? In any case, we must salute the long-term work of Marianne Le Morvan, founder and director of the Berthe Weill archives. Author of a thesis and two biographies devoted to the gallery owner, she is also one of the curators of the exhibition presented at the Orangerie, after those in New York and Montreal. It is undoubtedly this collaboration which made it possible to obtain significant loans.

A thoughtful choice of flagship or little-known works

The exhibition presents a subtle mix between major works and lesser-known works. Among the first are The Blue Room by Picasso (1901) – sold by Weill even before the opening of his gallery –, an astonishing still life by Matisse dating from 1899, a superb view of the River Thames by Derain (1906), or even a Naked by Modigliani (1917) which caused a scandal. We then discover the Hungarian artist Béla Czóbel, bringing together two qualities dear to the gallery owner: his youth – born in 1883 – and a work of Fauvist inspiration, as evidenced by The Man in the Straw Hat (1907). Elsewhere, Alfred Réth represents another avant-garde movement championed by Weill: Cubism (Cyclamen, 1912).

We also notice the presence of female artists – Suzanne Valadon, Alice Halicka, Odette des Garets – a novelty in a world previously dominated by men. A special place is given to Émilie Charmy, friend and confidante of the gallery owner, whom she exhibited regularly from 1906. Self-portrait with a cigarette (1916-1919) offers a raw representation, close to expressionist aesthetics. Charmy herself becomes a model in the beautiful portrait painted by Pierre Girieud in 1908.

The eclectic hanging and flexible scenography offer a journey reflecting the open-mindedness and extraordinary curiosity of Berthe Weill. Raoul Dufy or Jules Pascin, Diego Rivera or Albert Marquet, Aristide Maillol or Odilon Redon compose a universe with variable geometry. In other words, this woman will stop at nothing. Or almost, because his Jewish origins forced him to close the gallery in 1941.