The Pompidou Center exhibits its colors in Monaco

Review: The Parisian institution is relocating to the Rock for a unique illumination of the masterpieces in its collections through the prism of color. A successful multi-colored pictorial round, on view until August 31 at the Espace Ravel.

By Julien Bordier

Published on August 2, 2025 at 11:00 a.m.

"Autumn Forest" by Natalia Goncharova (1950). CENTRE POMPIDOU, MNAM-CCI/PHILIPPE MIGEAT/DIST. GRAND PALAIS RMN ADAGP, PARIS, 2025

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In 1860, Prince Charles III of Monaco turned to businessman François Blanc to create a gambling house to ensure the attractiveness of his territory. Co-inventor of roulette with his brother, Blanc brought color (a real treat) to the Rock: red and black would ensure the Principality's fortune. One hundred and sixty-five years later, the Grimaldi Forum relied on a whole range of colors to attract vacationers. The Centre Pompidou relocated to the Riviera for a unique illumination of its masterpieces through the prism of color. Curator Didier Ottinger took advantage of the 4,000 m² of the Espace Ravel to orchestrate a multicolored pictorial round.

Paintings and sculptures are not arranged here in chronological order or by movement, but rather according to the palette used. Blue, red, green, pink, yellow, white, and black parade 360 degrees in the middle of an immense "drum," a machine that revives the gaze on canvases by Bacon, Picasso, Basquiat, Miro, and Kupka. "The colors are the keys of a keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, and the soul is the piano itself, with its many strings…