Assembled over a period of nearly thirty years, the collection of Jeannine Poitrey (†) and Marie-Claire Ballabio, donated in 2019 to the Museums of Strasbourg, comprises 17 paintings and 40 drawings and engravings. Acquired from internationally renowned dealers and auction houses, the collection combines passion, taste and knowledge.

Bringing together works from the European, Italian, Dutch and French schools, the donation – presented complete for the first time – allows the public to discover masterpieces spanning the period from the Renaissance to the 19th century. In the number and quality of the works proposed, the Poitrey - Ballabio donation constitutes an exceptional enrichment of Strasbourg's collections. These works fill gaps in the collections of the Fine Arts Museum, the Prints and Drawings Room and the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum. Proposed jointly by the Strasbourg Museum of Fine Arts and Cabinet of Prints and Drawings, this exhibition provides an opportunity to salute the donors' admirable public-spiritedness and their awareness of the reputations of Strasbourg's collections and of its museum staff. To name only some of the most prestigious artists, this presentation allows the public to discover exceptional paintings by Sassoferrato and Luca Signorelli, as well as drawings by Tiepolo and Gustave Doré.

Exhibition Curators: Dominique Jacquot, Head Curator of Fine Arts Museum, Florian Siffer, conservation assistant in charge of the Prints and Drawings Room and Giulia Longo, trainee curator at the French National Heritage Institute