From November 7, 2025, to March 22, 2026, Caumont-Centre d’Art presents an exceptional exhibition bringing together works from the collection of Oscar Ghez, a Tunisian-born industrialist and passionate art collector. Through a chronological and thematic journey, visitors are invited to trace the evolution of French painting at the turn of the 20th century.

A unique journey through modern art

The exhibition offers a rich exploration of the major movements that shaped modern art. The School of Paris, the Nabis, Neo-Impressionism, and Cubism—all are represented through the paintings collected by Oscar Ghez, which embody the boldness and diversity of one of the most inventive periods in art history.

Through chromatic experiments, portraits, and genre scenes, the works selected by Ghez reveal different chapters of history, from the end of the Second Empire to the interwar period, also evoking the beginnings of industrialization.

After discovering the sensitive realism of the Impressionists with Le Pont de l'Europe by Gustave Caillebotte, let yourself be captivated by the bold pointillism of Maximilien Luce and the striking precision of Vallotton. Then marvel at the vibrant intensity of the Fauves, through works such as Manguin’s Nu au canapé bleu or Dufy’s Le Marché à Marseille. Conclude your journey by admiring the creative power of Cubism, with masterpieces like Picasso’s L'Aubade.

Art in the service of peace: the singular vision of a collector

A visionary driven by insatiable curiosity and a deep appreciation for pictorial innovation, Oscar Ghez championed artists who were little known in his time—many of whom would later become key figures in modern art history.

From early on, he highlighted the work of women painters such as Suzanne Valadon (Nude on a Red Sofa), Tamara de Lempicka (Perspective), and Marie Bracquemond (On the Terrace at Sèvres), anticipating by decades the renewed attention these long-overlooked artists receive today.

Guided by his humanist conviction that “art is a universal language,” Ghez also paid tribute to numerous Jewish artists who perished during the Holocaust, donating 137 of their works to the University of Haifa in 1978.

Why visit the exhibition on Oscar Ghez’s collection at Caumont-Centre d’Art?

A collection featuring nearly 60 masterpieces by 38 different artists;
A captivating journey through Western art at the dawn of the 20th century;
The discovery of a remarkable figure in modern collecting, who amassed over 5,000 works of art in just 30 years.

Offering a true voyage through a flourishing artistic era, this exhibition devoted to Oscar Ghez’s collection explores the role of the collector as a key figure in art history and invites visitors to reconsider what deserves to be preserved and celebrated.

With the sponsorship of

6 key dates about Oscar Ghez and his collection

1905: Oscar Ghez is born in Sousse, a coastal city in eastern Tunisia. As a child, he is already a collector — of seashells, stamps, and coins.
1922: Together with his brother, he opens a rubber parts manufacturing factory in the Rome region. As Jewish immigrants, the brothers face persecution under Mussolini’s antisemitic racial laws, and they manage to negotiate an exchange of their factory for a Pirelli plant near Lyon — a deal that brings them prosperity.
1939: During World War II, the Ghez family takes refuge in the United States, where Oscar Ghez works for the Pentagon, helping to plan the landing of American troops in Italy.
1950s: Having returned to Europe, he begins acquiring his first paintings. He sells his company to devote himself entirely to his art collection, which spans from the Impressionist revolution to the avant-garde movements of the 20th century.
1968: He opens the Petit Palais Museum in Geneva, housed in a 19th-century mansion, to share his passion with the public.
1998: A recipient of the Legion of Honour and Knight of Arts and Letters, he passes away in Geneva at the age of 93.

The team

Curatorship

Marina Ferretti
Marina Ferretti was head of the Signac Archives from 1983 to 2012, project manager for the creation of the Musée Pierre Bonnard in Le Cannet from 2003 to 2008 and scientific director of the Musée des impressionnismes Giverny from 2009 to 2019. She is now an independent art historian specialising in Post-Impressionism. She has often curated exhibitions, including Signac 1863-1935 (2001, Paris, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum and New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art), Signac, les harmonies colorées (2021, Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André) and Signac collectionneur (2022, Paris, Musée d’Orsay). At Giverny, she was responsible for the museum’s programming and curated numerous exhibitions, including Le Jardin de Monet à Giverny (2009), Bonnard en Normandie (2011), Signac, les couleurs de l’eau (2013), Caillebotte, peintre et jardinier (2015), Japonismes/Impressionnismes (2018) and H.E. Cross, Peindre le bonheur (2018). She has published numerous books and essays on painting from the second half of the 19th century to the turn of the 20th century.

Petit Palais, Geneva

Prof. Claude Ghez, Chairman of the Friends of the Petit Palais Association.
Marjorie Dugerdil Klein, Curator of the collection

Production and installation

Emmanuelle Lussiez, Exhibition Director, Culturespaces;
Milly Passigli, Director of Exhibition Programming;
Madeleine Balansino, Exhibition Manager for Caumont Art Centre;
Livia Lérès, Domitille Sechet and Mathilde Seys for the iconography at Culturespaces; Hubert le Gall, French designer, creator and contemporary art sculptor, assisted by Laurie Cousseau. Hubert Le Gall produces original scenography for many exhibitions, in particular at Caumont Art Centre and the Musée Jacquemart-André.