The highly anticipated Cézanne 2025 exhibition at the Granet Museum in Aix-en-Provence has reached a significant milestone, welcoming its 100,000th visitor just over a month after opening. The landmark event exhibition, which opened on June 28, passed this symbolic and promising threshold on Thursday, July 31, when a Belgian family of four crossed the museum's doors.
Journalists and Bruno Ely, director and chief curator of the Granet Museum in Aix-en-Provence, were waiting in anticipation for this special moment. The 100,001st, 100,002nd, 100,003rd, and 100,004th visitors entered the museum shortly after 3 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, with the electronic counter providing official confirmation of their milestone status.
As a reward for their symbolic visit, Nancy, Didier, Marie, and Adeline received a special tote bag containing the exhibition catalog and, most notably, a private guided tour of the Cézanne 2025 exhibition led by Bruno Ely himself, who shared his encyclopedic knowledge of the artist's work.
"This is a total surprise. We couldn't have known. It's fantastic!" commented Nancy, who had made reservations just two days earlier for the 3 p.m. time slot. "We don't regret it at all." Nancy and Didier are residents of the Liège region in Belgium and traveled specifically to see the exhibition.
The Belgian couple was accompanied by Didier's two nieces, Marie and Adeline, whose parents live in Aix-en-Provence. While Didier visits the city of King René every year, he explained that "the Cézanne exhibition was really not to be missed, so we came with pleasure. It's going to be a discovery for us because about Cézanne, I only know the name."
Marie echoed similar sentiments, saying she doesn't "have a very close relationship with Cézanne. I know the broad strokes, nothing more." However, Adeline showed more familiarity with the artist's work, expressing her appreciation for "the colors in his most famous paintings. We always see a different Sainte-Victoire mountain. I can't wait to discover him more intimately. This guided tour being offered to us is a real joy."
Reaching 100,000 visitors just 32 days after opening represents an average of approximately 3,100 visitors per day. Among these visitors have been several notable personalities, as Bruno Ely revealed with a smile: "Christine Lagarde, Alain Duhamel, Roselyne Bachelot, Palma and Diana Picasso, Christine Ockrent, Xavier Darcos, and some crowned heads, but don't ask me who – they requested absolute discretion."
The museum director expressed satisfaction with the attendance figures, noting that "the visitor targets we set for ourselves are being precisely met. This means we will likely reach, if the pattern holds, more than 300,000 visitors. I think we should meet our objectives."
After speaking with journalists, the museum director joined the Belgian family inside to personally guide them through the footsteps of the master painter. Outside, a somewhat envious line of waiting visitors continued to form, showing no signs of diminishing.
The Cézanne 2025 exhibition represents a major cultural event for Aix-en-Provence, the artist's hometown, and the strong attendance figures suggest it will be one of the most successful exhibitions in the Granet Museum's history. The exhibition's success reflects both the enduring appeal of Paul Cézanne's work and the quality of the curated experience offered by the museum.
