Longing for color

The highlight of the centenary was the international exhibition project "Longing for Color - Moreau, Matisse & Co." at the Clemens-Sels Museum in Neuss, which owns a collection of works by the French Symbolist Gustave Moreau that is unique in Germany and recognized worldwide. For the first time in Germany, the museum devoted itself to the "father of Symbolism" as a painter and as a teacher at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The exhibition juxtaposed Moreau with his most important students such as Henri Matisse, Georges Rouault and Edgard Maxence as well as Henri Evenepoel, Charles Camoin, Albert Marquet and Henri Manguin. The presentation included some 60 high-caliber paintings, watercolors, and hand drawings. The numerous loans were made available to the museum by important houses such as the Musée d'Orsay, the Centre Pompidou, the Musée Gustave Moreau and the Fondation Georges Rouault in Paris as well as the Musée départemental Matisse in Le Cateau Cambrésis and other renowned museums in Germany and Belgium. With this exhibition, the house offered a unique art experience and underlined its special collection profile.

The anniversary show was accompanied by a varied program of events, ranging from lectures and expert talks to concerts, workshops and a young night for teenagers and young adults.