Before & After – Histoire Intime D’une Collection
The documentary takes on a dual dimension: it is not only a portrait of two collectors but also a subjective testimony by one of them. Anne de Boismilon, together with her husband Wolfgang Titze, is not only a protagonist of the collection but also a co-director of the film.
Art is the proof that life is not enough.
Fernando Pessoa
Fernando Pessoa
Anne is a multifaceted figure: a filmmaker and journalist/reporter with a strong background in cultural activism, she has developed—together with Wolfgang Titze—a contemporary art collection that has been nourished by their curiosity, studies, and shared life. Wolfgang Titze is both life partner and co-architect of the project, sharing with Anne their tastes, discussions, aesthetic choices, and the belief that collecting is not mere acquisition, but a dialogue with art.
The collection began in the 1990s and grew gradually, guided by a principle they defined together: not to buy for prestige or speculation, but to seek works that resonate at first sight, while also carrying reflective, historical, social, and cultural significance. Collecting thus becomes a way of life, a continuous commitment.
One of the most striking traits of their story is sharing: Anne and Wolfgang do not operate alone—they discuss, confront, and decide together, directly inviting artists and offering them both location and concept. A work must strike them not only through form or name, but through its ability to create an emotional, intellectual, and aesthetic connection.
As a filmmaker, Anne also puts herself on the line—her own vision and questions come into play. The documentary is not an external narration, but an internal one, where questions such as “what drives us to choose this work?” mingle with doubts, compromises, and alternative paths. Wolfgang Titze appears as an interlocutor, and his perspectives help define the collection not as an extension of ego, but as a shared project.
Another aspect highlighted by the documentary is how the collection, located in Provence within their home and the surrounding sixteen hectares, does not remain a private matter. Anne and Wolfgang have worked to make their collection accessible to the public, through exhibitions and collaborations with museums. An example is Love Story – Anne and Wolfgang Titze, held at the Belvedere in Vienna in 2014.
Their project embodies the desire that the art they have chosen should not fade with them but continue to speak to the public. Hence the idea of a foundation—to keep the collection alive beyond the private dimension, an “after” that is not merely chronological but substantial: cultural legacy, accessibility, and memory.