Before seeing Matisse at MoMA yesterday, I happened upon several paintings of Monet stretched out on the expanse of the wall. I was in awe at the size of the painting, and at the fact that I was seeing one of his Water Lilies with my own eyes. After reading the article “Paris Rediscovers Monet’s Magic at Grand Palais” in the New York Times, it seems that the many of Monet’s work is back at Paris. It is the first “full dress overview” Paris has done in many years, so it is a big spectacle. At the Grand Palais, Monet’s paintings are hung by subject matter rather than chronologically, so viewers can contrast the various paintings Monet did. Rather than going to the same site over and over again to paint the various paintings, Monet painted them in his studio from memory. Thus, he was able to create paintings of the same subject but in different “moods”. The museum has 160 of his 2,000 works, and I would love to be there in person to see them all.
Monet's Soleil Levant
Monet's Water Liliies
The water lilies and the late works of Monet are a major step toward the freedom of expression that is abstract Expressionism. These are great works.