More than 60 exceptional works by French Impressionist masters including Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, and Camille Pissarro are now on display at Vienna's Lower Belvedere Museum. The exhibition, titled "Cézanne, Monet, Renoir – French Impressionism from Museum Langmatt," opened Thursday and represents one of the most significant private collections of French Impressionist art ever assembled.
The remarkable collection belongs to a Swiss couple whose private holdings remained largely unknown to the public until 1990. Sidney Brown (1865-1941), who served as technical director and later board member of the electrical engineering company BBC (Brown, Boveri and Company) co-founded by his brother Charles, and his wife Jenny Sulzer-Brown (1871-1968), who came from a prominent Winterthur industrial family, began their art collecting journey during their honeymoon when they purchased their first painting.
Initially, the Browns' collecting passion focused on art from the Munich Secession movement. However, their artistic direction changed dramatically in 1908 following a visit to Paris, when they shifted their attention entirely to French Impressionism. The couple invested enormous sums of money to acquire works by artists who were barely recognized in Switzerland at the time, making their collection truly pioneering for the region.
Among their most significant acquisitions was Paul Cézanne's still life "Peaches, Carafe and Person" (circa 1900), which became the first painting by the renowned artist to enter Switzerland. This masterpiece is currently featured in the Vienna exhibition. Other notable works include Monet's "Ice Floes at Twilight" from 1893, painted outdoors in freezing temperatures as the artist captured the unique lighting conditions with his easel, and Gauguin's "Still Life with Fruit Bowl and Lemons" from around 1889-1890, which was acquired in 1909 and represents one of the early French modern works to enter the Brown collection.
The exhibition places special emphasis on works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, with 22 paintings by the master representing approximately one-third of the entire Vienna presentation. This substantial collection of Renoir works demonstrates the Browns' particular affection for the artist's distinctive style and approach to Impressionist painting.
According to Alexander Klee, curator of the Vienna exhibition, the private collection of the Swiss couple remained in their Art Nouveau villa until it was converted into a museum in 1990, finally making these treasures accessible to the public. The Museum Langmatt, described by Belvedere General Director Stella Rollig as "an enchanting, magical place," is currently closed for renovation and will reopen in spring 2026.
Museum Langmatt Director Markus Stegmann has used the closure as an opportunity to increase international recognition for the collection, which Rollig characterized as "something of an insider tip." Vienna represents the third stop on the touring exhibition, following previous presentations in Lausanne and Cologne. However, Rollig emphasized that this is not a typical touring exhibition, as the Belvedere had complete freedom in the selection and presentation of the works.
The chronologically arranged exhibition is divided into individual sections or "salons," as Klee described them. Upon entering, visitors are greeted by portraits of the collector couple, while display cases document various acquisitions through original receipts and correspondence. The exhibition concludes in the Orangerie with a film that tells the complete story of the Browns and their remarkable collecting journey.
The exhibition runs daily from 10 AM to 6 PM at the Lower Belvedere, located at Rennweg 6 in Vienna's third district, from September 25, 2025, through February 8, 2026. Tickets are available starting at 16.50 euros, making this extraordinary collection of French Impressionist masterworks accessible to art enthusiasts and the general public alike.
