30 Year Celebration at Montblanc Haus
The first temporary exhibition at the newly opened Montblanc Haus in Hamburg looks back at 3 decades of its limited-edition writing instrument honouring patrons of art through the centuries.
Every year for the past 30 years, Montblanc has paid tribute to some of the world´s greatest historic art patrons and their cultural legacy. Their stories have been told through the annual Patron of Art Edition, a collection of strictly limited-edition fountain pens featuring elaborate designs and various craftsmanship techniques. To coincide with the final edition in the collection, a couples edition paying homage to the legacy of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Montblanc has curated Montblanc Patron of Art – 30 Years Celebration, a temporary exhibition that brings together every edition in the collection at Montblanc Haus.
Just like the works of art that these patrons made possible through their generous and dedicated support, the Patron of Art editions are pieces of art themselves, sought-after among collectors. Each one articulates the patron’s life and character in limited writing instruments of 4810 fountain pens, and since 1995 as a second limitation of 888 pieces.
Without these patrons of art, the cultural landscape would look very different through the centuries without the works of art they made possible. It has been our pleasure to bring them into the limelight over the past 30 years. The exhibition is also a celebration of the art of collecting. This edition is a Montblanc collector’s favourite, and it is very rare to have all these collectors’ pieces in one place at once to discover and enjoy.
Alessandra Elia, Montblanc Writing Culture Director.
For the exhibition, the writing instruments are the art, and the environment they live within provides the canvas to celebrate them. Artist and illustrator Nabil Nezzar has created a series of illustrations that serve as the canvas, contextualizing the contributions some of the patrons made in their own lifetime including Madame Pompadour, Humboldt, Steinway, Borghese, Moctezuma, and Victoria & Albert.
Montblanc Patron of Art – 30 Years Celebration is housed in the temporary exhibition space of Montblanc Haus located at the Maison’s headquarters in Hamburg. Built to inspire writing, Montblanc Haus is a destination that tells the story of Montblanc from its founding days to the present, of the women and men who craft Montblanc’s writing instruments and of those who have used them to share their imprint on humanity. It is a place where people can discover or rediscover the power of handwriting and the creativity, imagination and emotion it unlocks in everyone.
I have always had a very personal connection to Montblanc. Every year, my siblings and I used would save up money to purchase a Montblanc creation as a birthday gift for our father. It’s a memory that inspired the illustrations in this exhibition. I wanted to build a narrative into each of my artworks as intricate and imaginative as the stories my father told me when I was young.
Nabil Nezzar, artist
In April 2023, Montblanc will introduce an evolved concept dedicated specifically to Artists. It will embrace the same spirit as the Patron of Art Edition, but with a different focus: the Montblanc Masters of Art Collection. Human civilization could not have progressed without the contribution of artists, their creativity, imagination, as well as the thoughtfulness and beauty of their masterpieces. To honour them, Montblanc will tell stories around some of the most outstanding artists of humankind by crafting exceptional writing instrument collections. While the limitation numbers 4810 and 888 will be maintained, the concept will be further enriched by surprising new elements.
