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In Genoa, over 140 works from the Scharf Collection, ranging from Goya to Monet and contemporary art

by Redazione , published on 03/09/2026
Categories: Exhibitions / Disclaimer
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From October 16, 2026, to May 2, 2027, the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa will present, for the first time in Italy, a selection from the Scharf Collection, featuring over 140 works that span two centuries of art history, from the 19th century to the present day.

From October 16, 2026, to May 2, 2027, the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa will host “Renoir, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, Cézanne—200 Years of Art from the Scharf Collection, an exhibition that will bring over 140 works from one of Germany’s most significant private collections—which has long remained private—to Italy for the first time. The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the Scharf Collection, MondoMostre, and the Palazzo Ducale Foundation in Genoa, and is curated by Ilaria Bonacossa, director of the Genoese institution.

The selection traces two centuries of art history through works not only by Renoir, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Cézanne, but also by Goya, Corot, Bonnard, Matisse, and Léger, up to the contemporary artists Tony Cragg and Katharina Grosse. The exhibition thus also aims to convey the multifaceted and complex events that shaped the history of art collecting throughout the 20th century.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, River Landscape with Bathers (c. 1885; oil on canvas, 32.5 x 41 cm; The Scharf Collection)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, River Landscape with Bathers (c. 1885; oil on canvas, 32.5 x 41 cm; The Scharf Collection)
Claude Monet, Waterloo Bridge (1903; oil on canvas, 65 x 100 cm; The Scharf Collection)
Claude Monet, Waterloo Bridge (1903; oil on canvas, 65 x 100 cm; The Scharf Collection)
Henri Matisse, Lagoon (1947; Pochoir / Stencil print, 42 x 65 cm; The Scharf Collection)
Henri Matisse, Lagoon (1947; Pochoir / stencil print, 42 x 65 cm; The Scharf Collection)

The Scharf Collection traces its origins to the Berlin collection of Otto Gerstenberg, which was dedicated to the pioneers of Modernism and the French avant-garde. The collection has been passed down through several generations of the family: during World War II, Gerstenberg’s daughter, Margarethe Scharf, managed to save the core of the collection. Later, his grandsons Walter and Dieter Scharf developed two distinct branches of the collection. Dieter’s collection, focused on Surrealism, has been on permanent loan to the Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection in Charlottenburg since 2008.

Walter Scharf, together with his wife Eve and son René, expanded the section dedicated to French art with works by Monet, Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso. Today, René Scharf and his wife, Christiane Scharf, continue this tradition focused on modern and contemporary art, with works by artists such as Sam Francis, Sean Scully, Daniel Richter, and Katharina Grosse. Their collecting activities focus in particular on the evolution of painting and the relationship between figuration and abstraction.

In Genoa, over 140 works from the Scharf Collection, ranging from Goya to Monet and contemporary art
In Genoa, over 140 works from the Scharf Collection, ranging from Goya to Monet and contemporary art

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