Chateau De la Valouze Venue | About

The château was once home to the family of the man responsible for Impressionism, the painting movement that emerged in France in the 1860s, initiated by Edouard Manet. Let me explain…   It is hard to imagine a time when Impressionists weren’t popular. Yet, in the early 1870s, the movement struggled to be accepted. Shunned by the art establishment, they were even lambasted as ‘lunatics’ by one critic.  One man, however, recognised their worth from the beginning. Paul Durand-Ruel, an entrepreneurial art dealer from Paris, discovered this group of young artists – including Monet, Degas, Manet, Renoir, Sisley, Pissaro – and gambled. Realising the fashionable potential of their derided ‘impressions’ of urban and suburban life, Durand-Ruel dedicated the rest of his life to building an audience for their work.  Of the 85 masterpieces in the “Inventing Impressionism” exhibition, 84 passed through the hands of Durand-Ruel. These included 3 of Renoir’s famous “Dances” and 4 of Monet’s “Poplars” series. We like to think that they may one day have grazed the walls of la Valouze…