The reopening of Paris museums this week finally gives billionaire tycoon Francois Pinault the chance to showcase his vast contemporary art collection in the French capital.
The museum's launch in a converted 19th-century commodities exchange, blocks away from the Louvre, was put on hold twice due to the coronavirus pandemic after having suffered earlier planning mishaps, with an initial project abandoned in 2005.
Pinault, 84 - who made his fortune in timber trading before shifting into retail under the group now known as Kering, run by his son - joins rival French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault in trying to stamp his legacy on Paris' art scene and landscape, with museums and renovation projects. But the Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection, opening on May 22, will also give visitors a glimpse of the businessman's vast trove of art purchases since the 1980s, including pieces by photographer Cindy Sherman and painter Peter Doig.
The 200 works on display for the opening, feature artists who have never had retrospectives in France, such Kerry James Marshall, known for his paintings of Black figures and explorations of African-American history.
The project follows Pinault's attempt to build a new museum in western Paris on the site of a former Renault car factory, which became bogged down in wrangling with local authorities. The billionaire has since opened two museums in Venice, Italy.
