For the first time ever, the Langmatt‘s esteemed collection of Impressionist masterpieces has left its home in northern Switzerland, finding a new temporary residence at the Hermitage Foundation. This extraordinary exhibition, featuring around 50 paintings by iconic artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Claude Monet, and Edgar Degas, is now being presented in a much brighter environment as the Langmatt undergoes renovation.
“I’ve never seen the paintings in this light,” said Markus Stegmann, director of the Langmatt.
Traditionally housed within the cocooned elegance of the Langmatt villa in Baden, near Zurich, the artworks have long been illuminated by crystal chandeliers and filtered through latticed windows. Now, at the Hermitage, the expansive bay windows of the 19th-century villa offer an unobstructed play of natural light, reminiscent of the very inspiration that guided the Impressionist movement.
The collection boasts standout pieces such as Renoir’s “The Braid” (1886-1887), Monet’s “Ice Floes at Twilight” (1893), and Gauguin’s “Still Life with Bowl of Fruit and Lemons” (1889-1890). This exhibition, running until November 3, not only commemorates 150 years since the birth of Impressionism but also pays homage to Sidney and Jenny Brown. This affluent couple from the industrial bourgeoisie of northern Switzerland amassed the collection between 1908 and 1919, guided purely by their impeccable taste and heartfelt appreciation for art.
Stegmann notes that every piece was “bought with the heart.” One striking example is Eugene Boudin’s “Washerwomen on the Bank of the Touques” (1895), depicting women leaning over the water with a factory billowing smoke in the background. Acquired during the Browns’ honeymoon in Paris in 1896, this painting is both challenging and compelling, as described by Hermitage Foundation director Sylvie Wuhrmann.
Initially diverse in their acquisitions, the Browns’ collection eventually centered exclusively on contemporary French artists, with Renoir, Cézanne, and Camille Pissarro becoming prominent favorites. Despite societal scrutiny, their commitment to Impressionism never wavered.
Among the most recognizable works in the collection is Renoir’s “The Braid,” inspired by the classicist style of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and affectionately dubbed the Langmatt Mona Lisa. This piece resonates beautifully with the Hermitage’s own exceptional collection, which includes 17 paintings and drawings by Suzanne Valadon, the model for “The Braid.”
In 1919, the Browns shifted their focus from Impressionism to 18th-century French painters, selling several Impressionist works to acquire Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s “Young Girl with a Cat” (circa 1770), also featured in the Lausanne exhibition. After Sidney Brown’s death in 1941, Jenny Brown ceased acquiring new art, living reclusively at the Langmatt villa until her death in 1968 at age 96.
Seeking a temporary home for the Langmatt collection during renovations, Stegmann found a welcoming partner in the Hermitage, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. This collaboration has also enabled the publication of a comprehensive catalogue on the Langmatt collection, a project that would have been financially challenging for the Baden museum alone.
Following its stint in Lausanne, the collection will travel to Cologne, Germany, from March to July 2025, and then to Vienna from September 2025 to February 2026, before finally returning home to Baden.
