Thanks to the commitment of LVMH Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton, almost two thirds of the sum necessary for the acquisition by the Louvre Museum have already been raised, i.e. fifteen million euros, to which is added the support of other important donors, the Society of Friends of the Louvre and finally by the generosity of almost 10.000 individual donors who helped raise more than 1,6 million euros, a record for an “All Patrons!” campaign. “The exceptional mobilization of all these Louvre lovers is a particularly exciting sign of the public's attachment to our heritage, to the very idea of the museum, to its promise of sharing. I therefore hoped that this wonderful masterpiece by Chardin would come to meet all the French, first in Lens, then in Brest and Clermont-Ferrand, before reaching the walls of the Louvre." Laurence des Cars, President and Director of the Louvr Museumand The strawberry basket tours France threatened to leave France, Chardin's incomparable strawberry basket will, after its acquisition, exhibited to the public at the Louvre-Lens museum, starting from March 21st. After returning in June to be admired in Paris, the work will be presented at the Brest Museum of Fine Arts for the summer, starting July 2, before reaching the Roger-Quilliot art museum in Clermont-Ferrand on October 2 for autumn.
Fundraising record
Furthermore, between 7 November 2023 and 29 February 2024, over 1,6 million euros were raised as part of the 14th edition of the “All Patrons!” a record.
Since 2010, the participatory sponsorship campaigns “Tous Mécènes!” » became one of the most important events of the Louvre Museum and brought together more than 35.000 donors, including numerous faithful: almost 14.000 donors mobilized in more than one campaign and 116 donors participated in all fourteen campaigns. In addition to the sums collected, “All Patrons!” » strengthens the bond that unites the Louvre and its public.
In the summer of 1761, Jean Siméon Chardin exhibited a composition with a basket of strawberries in the center at the Salon Carré of the Louvre Museum. It is one of the last still lifes of the painter, then at the height of a brilliant career that earned him recognition throughout Europe and prestigious royal commissions. Stripped and tidy, the Basket of Strawberries stands out from the “beautiful disorder” of Chardin's other paintings in this period. The dense but transparent volume of the glass of water balances the fragile monument of the red fruits.
