Claude Monet The Thaw at Vetheuil [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Oscar-Claude Monet (1840-1926) was perhaps the most revolutionary artist of the 19th Century. He is one of the founders of the French Impressionist movement and was the most consistent practitioner of that artistic philosophy. His body of work based on the Seine is the repetition of plein-air scenes at not only times of the day but also many seasons in order to document the changing light.
For those readers unfamiliar with the terminology, en plein-air means that an artist paints in the open, outside, to capture the landscape in front of him. As for the Seine, it is a 485 mile long river and important commercial waterway that meanders through the north of France and through the middle of Paris.
Claude Monet Le Pont Routier, Argentiel [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
A blockbuster museum exhibit can be overwhelming. A quantity of masterpiece after masterpiece can dilute quality in my opinion—sometimes there is just too much for the human brain to comprehend at one time. But what I love about this exhibit is that there is a common thread throughout the exhibit with one painting leading to the next, one gallery leading to the following. There is context and continuity. It is curated beautifully, easy to view, and clear to comprehend and enjoy. And yes, there is masterpiece after masterpiece–it will blow your mind, but it won’t break your brain.
It is fun to get up close to his paintings to see all the wild brushwork then to back up and let your mind find the complete, soothing image.
Oh, and don’t ignore the frames. I admit that getting up close to examine the brushwork I also examined the masterful pieces encasing the artwork. Every beautifully gilded frame is different and each is worthy to feature the masterpiece it encompasses, they’re gorgeous in their own right.
Morty Seinfeld said, “Don’t you think he had to be near sighted? I mean nobody would paint like that if they could see. It’s all out of focus.” But really, who in this world doesn’t like Monet?
Culturemap posted a great narrated slideshow about the exhibit featuring curator of European art for MFAH Dr. Helga Aurisch; I have included a link below.