Visitors to Nice during the next five months will have the chance to learn more about Charlotte de Rothschild (1825-1899), a patron of the arts who was herself an accomplished artist.
Vivre pour l’art: les collection Trachel et Rothschild à Nice opens at the Musée de Beaux-Arts in Nice on 25 November. But who was Charlotte de Rothschild? And why is her work being displayed in Nice?
Charlotte was the eldest child of Baron James de Rothschild, founder of the Paris branch of the Rothschild business who purchased the Lafite vineyard in 1868. She married her cousin Nat, son of Nathan Rothschild, founder of the English branch. Nat acquired Chateau Mouton-Rothschild in 1853.
Charlotte studied watercolours under Eugène Lami, with whom she founded the Society of French Watercolour Painters. She became a recognised artist, producing numerous fine landscapes in watercolour including some of the Côte d’Azure. Some of these form the focus of the exhibition in Nice, which also includes the work of Hercule Trachel, her teacher and friend.
In preparation for the exhibition, the museum’s curators visited The Rothschild Archive to look at some of the Charlotte’s works that are in the collection and to read some of the correspondence between Charlotte and Trachel. The Archive team has been delighted to work with the curators as their plans have developed.
The museum will display many examples of Charlotte’s work gathered from collections in France. Starting in 1888, the museum received many donations of art from several members of the Rothschild family, including paintings and sculptures.
You can view the museum website here »
