The Impressionists by Night in Rouen – Part 2, at the Cathedral

‘Things don’t advance very steadily, primarily because each day I discover something I hadn’t seen the day before … In the end, I am trying to do the impossible.’ Claude Monet, 1892

The Impressionists by Night in Rouen, as part of the Normandie Impressionniste 2010 summer festival, will take place each night, 1 June – 30 September, in front of the Musée des Beaux Arts and the Cathedral, the same Cathedral Claude Monet painted some 30 times in changing lighting conditions.

From the end of 1892 through into 1893 Monet rented rooms across the street from the Cathedral which served as his temporary studios. The paintings were then finished off in his studio at Giverny in 1894. In 1895 Monet selected 20 of these paintings to be displayed in his dealer’s Parisian gallery, where 8 were sold.

The Cathedral series was not Monet’s first series of a single subject, but it was his most exhaustive. For Monet the effects of light on a subject at different times of the day and the year, in differing weather conditions became more important than the subject itself.

‘Monet’s sensitivity to the natural effects he observed are just one factor that make these pictures so remarkable; the way he manipulates his medium contributes to their majesty as well. For the surfaces of these canvases are literally encrusted with paint that Monet built up layer upon layer like the masonry of the façade itself.’ Paul Hayes Tucker, 1995*

But this did not come easy to Monet, as is clear in his words above. He found the Cathedral a challenging subject and he wrote about vivid nightmares in which the cathedral in different colours, pink, blue and yellow, fell on him.

Part of the spectacular sound and light show that is ‘Les Nuits Impressionnistes‘ is a celebration of Monet’s Cathedral series. Some of his paintings are projected on to the façade of the Cathedral to dramatic effect, as can be seen in the second photograph below (taken during the show in 2009). The show also includes contemporary artists interpretation in homage to Claude Monet. Do not miss this show; I can not wait to see it again. Enjoy an evening out in Rouen, visit one of Rouen’s many wonderful restaurants and then as night falls enjoy the rest of the summer evening in front of the Cathedral and the Museum of Fine Art.

*Quote from page 224, Paul Hayes Tucker’s Claude Monet: Life and Art. 1995 Yale University Press.