CLAUDE MONET

Five recently studied or restored paintings reveal another facet of his art, less spontaneous than it might appear. Tracing the first decades of his career through to the turn of the century, these paintings reveal his relentless pursuit of painting outdoors and capturing what he called his “sensations”. With remarkable virtuosity, they convey the atmosphere of the banks of the Seine and the rolling waves of the sea, the freshness of spring and the severity of winter in landscapes both near and far, all transformed by his brush. Yet beneath this dazzling apparent ease lies a relentless quest: create a 3-meter-long painting in his garden; compose a snowy landscape; produce a life-size evocation of a family meal, with or without guests, and, very specifically, decide whether or not to varnish his painting. So many questions that Monet asked himself and which will be addressed in this display, developed with the help of the Centre for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France (C2RMF) and Bénédicte Trémolières, a restorer specializing in the artist, and with the participation of several restorers. The presentation of a number of letters alongside the paintings also enables us to meet the artist himself, in the midst of his work and creative process.