Château Mouton Rothschild
x Joana Vasconcelos
For the first time ever, a Portuguese artist has created an artwork for the Château Mouton Rothschild label. Joana Vasconcelos’s « Paraíso » illustrates the 2023 vintage, adding her name to the remarkable list of contemporary artists who have preceded her.
Famous for her monumental, joyful installations, Joana Vasconcelos chose to accept the challenge of creating a label-sized artwork. Her drawing centres on a cluster of grapes and illustrates all the elements that come together to create a great wine: earth and water, the sun’s rays and the cool of the night, combined with the work of human hands, represented by the apex of a triangle as a beneficial incursion into the cycle of nature.
Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, each element has its own shape and colour and plays a complementary and decisive role. The vine is the centre of human attention and thrives in the paradise – « Paraíso » in Portuguese – that is the Château Mouton Rothschild terroir, whose soil, sun and water have nourished grapes from time immemorial.
True to her bright, colourful universe, the artist has used her talent for graphic arts, honed over several years, to create the drawing that illustrates the label for the 2023 vintage.
«I felt privileged and honoured not only to be associated with this great name, but also with the exceptional artists who have already illustrated a label.» - Joana Vasconcelos
THE 2023 VINTAGE
Under the influence of a mild and humid spring, the vine displays rapid growth. The April bud break withstands the frosts, then the late May flowering proves to be five days early. The vineyard maintains this advance despite the exceptional heat of June. Two successive heat waves, between August and September, ultimately precede the opening of the harvest.
This blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Merlot reveals a deep garnet robe. The nose combines freshness and power, displaying notes of black fruits, fine pastry, chocolate and confectionery. The attack, full-bodied and smooth, opens onto a palate with powerful and lively tannins, enhanced by delicious aromas of graphite, roasted hazelnuts and cocoa beans, bearing witness to all the nobility of this great Left Bank terroir.
«« Paraíso » is a work inspired by the idea of perfection, luxury, and the harmony between nature and humankind.»
Joana Vasconcelos
Joana Vasconcelos and Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild holding the artwork in the artist’s studioTHE ARTIST AND THE LABEL
Born in 1971, Joana Vasconcelos is a Portuguese visual artist with a career spanning over 30 years and a huge variety of media. Recognised for her monumental sculptures and immersive installations, she decontextualises everyday objects and updates the arts and crafts concept for the 21st century, establishing a dialogue between the private sphere and public space, popular heritage and refined culture. She questions the status of women, consumer society and collective identity with humour and irony.
“I felt privileged and honoured not only to be associated with this great name, but also with the exceptional artists who have already illustrated a label.
My inspiration for the label comes from the grape clusters, the vines, and all the natural elements found at Château Mouton Rothschild. « Paraíso » is a work inspired by the idea of perfection, luxury, and the harmony between nature and humankind.”
Joana Vasconcelos
Her artworks have also graced exhibits around the world such as Grassi Palace in Venice, Thyssen-Bornemisza, Royal Academy of Arts in London, Manchester Art Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Kunsthal Rotterdam, São Paulo’s CCBB and Pinacoteca, Istanbul Modern, Garage Centre for Contemporary Culture in Moscow, Le Centquatre and La Monnaie Paris, Palais de Tokyo and Hermitage. They also feature in several private collections.
She received the rank of Commander of the Order of Infante D. Henrique by the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic in 2009 and became an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture in 2022. She manages the Joana Vasconcelos Studio with over 50 employees since 2006 and founded the Joana Vasconcelos Foundation in 2012 to support social causes, grant scholarships and promote art for all.
“Joana Vasconcelos uses everyday, traditional materials like embroidery or crochet to create artworks that explore contemporary issues such as feminism in a monumental, baroque, occasionally provocative, humorous and engaged way. She grounds Portugal’s craft heritage in modernity. I really like that link between art and craft because it’s what we have here at Château Mouton Rothschild, the result of high-level craftsmanship and at the same time a work of art, because each vintage is unique, rare and hence precious.”
Julien de Beaumarchais de Rothschild, co-owner of Château Mouton Rothschild, responsible for the estate’s artistic and cultural activity and for relations with artists
Turning Château Mouton Rothschild into a world of art and beauty
PAINTINGS FOR THE LABELS
Making Château Mouton Rothschild a place of art and beauty was Baron Philippe de Rothschild’s ambition.
Since 1945, the labels for each vintage of Château Mouton Rothschild have been illustrated by an original artwork, adding year after year to the unique collection of contemporary art which brings together very different artists from many different backgrounds, including names such as Salvador Dalí, César, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Pierre Soulages, Francis Bacon, Balthus, Jeff Koons, David Hockney, Annette Messager, Olafur Eliasson, Peter Doig, Chiharu Shiota, Gérard Garouste…
All these works make up the Paintings for the Labels exhibition, which was created by Baroness Philippine de Rothschild in 1981 and moved into its permanent home at Château Mouton Rothschild in 2013.
