Pinacothèque de Paris

The Pinacothèque de Paris was a private art museum in Paris, France, that operated from 2003 to 2016. Founded by Marc Restellini, a noted Modigliani enthusiast, it specialized in temporary exhibitions drawn from private collections rather than maintaining a permanent collection of its own. At its height, the institution claimed to rank among the most visited museums in Paris, though later investigations suggested these attendance figures had been inflated. The museum's business model relied entirely on private funding and ticket sales, making it unusual among major Parisian cultural institutions. It ceased operations on 15 February 2016 after entering receivership in November 2015, leaving behind approximately ten million euros in unpaid debts and triggering investigations into fiscal fraud and embezzlement.

The Pinacothèque began in 2003 at 30 bis, rue de Paradis in the 10th arrondissement, where it presented Picasso Intime in autumn 2003. On 15 June 2007, it relocated to 28, Place de la Madeleine in the 8th arrondissement, a more prominent address that signaled its ambitions. In January 2011, Restellini inaugurated an additional exhibition space of nearly 3,000 square metres at 8 rue Vignon, dedicated to what were termed "Collections" exhibitions alongside continuing temporary shows. The museum's expansion reached its peak with the May 2015 opening of a Singapore branch, managed through Art Heritage Singapore with Yves Bouvier as shareholder, though Restellini held only a titular chairman role there with no executive function. The Singapore venue closed in April 2016 after building defects endangered artworks and triggered staff lawsuits. The Paris parent institution had already shut on 15 February 2016, mid-way through the Karl Lagerfeld, a Visual Journey exhibition, citing plummeting attendance following the November 2015 Paris attacks. Restellini publicly complained that private museums faced unfair competition from publicly funded institutions. Post-closure revelations indicated the Pinacothèque was a subsidiary of Belgian and Dutch companies, keeping actual ownership anonymous, and that Restellini may have used the museum in conjunction with art dealer Yves Bouvier to sell exhibited works. French authorities opened investigations for fiscal fraud and embezzlement. In July 2017, the US real estate investor Hines Interests Limited Partnership acquired the Madeleine building.

The Pinacothèque had no permanent collection. Its programming consisted entirely of temporary exhibitions organized around borrowed works, often from private collections. The museum's approach was described as "amateur" because it did not follow official systems of art historical classification. Restellini's personal interest in Amedeo Modigliani influenced the institution's direction, with several exhibitions exploring artists connected to Modigliani's circle or era. The programming ranged across periods and schools, from Old Masters to contemporary art, and frequently featured thematic or collection-based shows rather than single-artist retrospectives. The 2011 expansion at 8 rue Vignon specifically accommodated exhibitions devoted to great private collections and their owners.

Because the Pinacothèque held no permanent collection, its "holdings" consisted of the works temporarily exhibited during its temporary shows. These included significant loans and rarely seen pieces. The inaugural 2003 exhibition Picasso Intime featured over 90 paintings, drawings, and collages that Picasso had given to his second wife, Jacqueline Roque, marking the first French exhibition of these celebrated works. The 2007 Chaïm Soutine: le fou Smilovitchi presented approximately 80 paintings, most never previously exhibited, in the first Soutine retrospective in 33 years. Other major exhibitions included Roy Lichtenstein: Evolution (2007), Jackson Pollock and Shamanism (2008-2009), Edvard Munch or the "Anti-Scream" (2010), Giacometti and the Etruscans (2011-2012), The Netter Collection: Modigliani, Soutine and the Montparnasse Adventure (2012), Van Gogh: Dreams of Japan / Hiroshige, the Art of Travel (2012-2013), Goya and Modernity (2013-2014), and Leonardo da Vinci, Il Genio - The Secrets of the Codex Atlanticus unveiled (2015-2016). The final exhibition, Karl Lagerfeld, A Visual Journey, opened in October 2015 but closed unfinished when the museum shut.

The primary Pinacothèque site occupied 28 Place de la Madeleine in the 8th arrondissement, a building owned by Crédit Agricole. Heritage architect Laurent Guinamard-Casati designed the space, which comprised approximately 2,000 square metres across three levels: basement, ground floor, and first floor. The first floor featured distinctive corridors running along 19th-century warehouse structures. The January 2011 expansion at 8 rue Vignon added nearly 3,000 square metres on two levels, one floor for "Collections" and another for temporary exhibitions. Both sites included shops and bookstores. The total exhibition space thus exceeded 4,000 square metres at peak. The Madeleine location placed the museum in one of Paris's most prestigious commercial districts, near the Église de la Madeleine, contributing to its high fixed costs, estimated at approximately 300,000 euros monthly in rent alone.

The Pinacothèque de Paris was located at 28 Place de la Madeleine, with an additional entrance at 8 rue Vignon after 2011, both in the 8th arrondissement. It was privately owned and operated without public subsidy, making ticket sales its principal revenue source. The museum claimed daily attendance of over 4,000 visitors at its peak, though these figures were later suspected of having been falsified. The institution's closure on 15 February 2016 ended all public access. The Singapore branch, located in a planned "pop-up" space pending renovation of the historic Fort Canning building, operated from 30 May 2015 until April 2016. No successor institution occupies the Paris sites, and the original website (http://www.pinacotheque.com/) is no longer active. The building at 28 Place de la Madeleine passed to Hines Interests Limited Partnership in July 2017, marking the end of the Pinacothèque's physical presence in Paris.