A number of art museums are either in the process of refurbishing their galleries or have just re-opened newly renovated galleries, and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England is one. In November last year Gallery 5, one of their more popular galleries, re-opened after an extensive make-over. This is the Fitzwilliams’ French Impressionists and other late 19th and early 20th century permanent exhibition.

The newly refurbished Impressionist gallery follows is the latest in a series of other recently renovated art and archaeology galleries, including the Egyptian gallery, the 19th and 20th century British Art gallery and the Classical Greece and Rome gallery. Besides enhanced display techniques that allow visitors to better appreciate these wonderful works of art, the display includes more detailed information about the history of Impressionism, and also how these specific paintings came to be in the Museum’s collection.

When the Impressionists were curating their own exhibitions in Paris, exhibitions that challenged every aspect of the art establishment, one of the things they did was to hang their paintings on backgrounds that were bold and striking in colour. And, they would even use several different colours within a single exhibition. Not only were they doing something radical with what they painted and the techniques they used, but they followed through with their radical approach to also include how their paintings were experienced. And now, over a century later art galleries around the world are returning to these ideas. At the Fitzwilliam, the paintings have now been hung on dramatic dark blue-grey walls.

Jane Munro, the curator of the Impressionist gallery says,

“It is wonderful to be able to redisplay their works in an appropriately vibrant setting that allows their innovative, light-infused paintings to be seen and understood as never before in the museum.”

The Fitzwilliam Museum, situated in the heart of Cambridge, has one of the finest collections of French Impressionist paintings. The artists represented in the collection include Claude Monet (see above), Paul Cézanne, Camille Pissarro (see below), Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley and Pierre Auguste Renoir. So visitors to the museum will not be disappointed! Have you been, what did you think? Leave us a comment below.

Camille Pissarro, 1895, Effet de neige a Erangy, avec un pommier. Oil on canvas, 38.2 x 46.2 cm. © The Fitzwilliam

Fancy a unique, all inclusive three day break in Normandy, visiting Claude Monet’s house and garden in Giverny as well as Pissarro’s house in Eragny-sur-Epte, and a chauffeured day trip along the Normandy coast where both Monet and Pissarro painted, including Etretat?

Read about the 3 day break on my Basse Copette website

The Porte d’Aval at Etretat, the inspiration for Monet’s painting above.

Before I received my copy of Monet’s Passion by Elizabeth Murray, I knew this was going to be a beautiful volume. When I opened the packaging I was overwhelmed by the book’s beauty: the rich feel of the jacket, the amazingly rich photographs that seem to have captured every aspect of Monets’ garden, and the exquisite transparent overlays with pen and ink sketches. Having written a few books about prehistoric art myself I am all to aware of the issues involved in publishing high quality art books at reasonable prices. This latest edition of Monet’s Passion, published in 2010 to celebrate its 20th anniversary, really and truly is a snip at only $35.

But, let me not give the impression that Monet’s Passion is nothing more than a superbly produced coffee-table, picture book. For that would be wrong. The subtitle accurately sums up what lies behind this book and the wonderful images it contains: ideas, inspiration and insights. Elizabeth Murray explores the history and conceptual development of Monet’s garden from the artist’s time there, what he was creating and how, to the present Giverny, where the garden is one of France’s most visited attractions, and beyond Giverny, where today gardener’s of all capabilities seek to draw on Monet’s inspiration where ever they live.

Elizabeth Murray, a professional gardener and artist, gave up what she was doing in the US and volunteered her gardening skills for the restoration of Monet’s garden. In return she was offered an apartment and a food allowance. And for nine months she worked alongside the French gardening team, working five days a week from 8 am to 5 pm. For these efforts in bringing this wonderful part of France’s heritage back to life, Murray now has privileged access to the gardens and so she is in an authoritative position to be writing about the themes covered in this book for she has experienced the inspiration of Monet’s garden all year round. I only ever visit the gardens when they are open to the public, so from the beginning of April to the end of October, but I am always truly amazed how different the gardens are throughout these seven months, how there is always something different to take in. And this is a quality of the garden that Murray has captured in both her photographs and her writing.

Besides seemingly exploring every inter-twining aspect of Monet’s skills as a gardener, horticulturist and colourist, his love of flowers, colour and light, and how these are manifested in the ground and on the canvas, a substantial part of the book is about ‘Bringing Giverny Home’. This is not a ‘How to Recreate Giverny in Your Backyard’ manual, but rather an experiential approach to creating your own inspirational garden using some of the principles Monet used in creating his garden, the same principles his restorers rediscovered during their restoration work.

This book is a must have, and read, for anyone who has ever contemplated the many paintings Monet produced of his gardens, but particularly those of his gardens at Giverny which he did more to create than anywhere else, and for anyone who has visited Monet’s gardens in Giverny and felt inspired by them.

Monet’s Passion has justifiably been lavishly produced. There are 140 pages and over 75 colour photographs, there are also colour garden plans, transparent overlays with masterful pen and in sketches providing extra detail, and a number of historical photographs. The Smyth-sewn casebound book is 8 ¾ by 8 ¾ inches, with a ribbon marker and quality jacket. Monet’s Passion is published by Pomegranate Communications, Petaluma, CA, and is available from their website, click here. This wonderful book is also available in electronic form, follow the link above and you will be able to purchase a download of the book for your computer or laptop.

Elizabeth Murray, professional gardener and artist, in front of Monet’s house, Giverny.

Monet’s house and garden re-opens to the public on 1 April 2011. Just as Elizabeth’s love for the gardens grew with the blossoming of each new plant, my appreciation for the people who have restored Monet’s gardens, and those who continue to look after it grows with each new visit. And, I can not wait to visit it again in April. At Basse Copette I am offering 2-night, all-inclusive Spring breaks that include a trip to Giverny and Vétheuil. So become one of the first to see in Spring 2011. For all bookings made before the end of January 2011, I will include a complimentary copy of Monet’s Passion. Click here, for more information about the Impressionist Spring breaks at Basse Copette.

According to a spokesperson at the Grand Palais, there are no plans to make more tickets available online. You are able to buy tickets at the Grand Palais, and the queue for entry is between 1 and 2 hours long.

You can still purchase a copy of the Grand Palais Exhibition Catalogue online.

But remember that there is also another Monet exhibition on at the Musée Marmottan Monet, until 20 February 2010.

In my opinion, while the Monet exhibition at the Grand Palais should not be missed – the exhibition at the Marmottan is in fact a better exhibition. There may be more paintings on show in the Grand Palais, but there are a number of significant paintings not on show that are important canvasses in the development of Monet’s style and contribution to Impressionism.

This is also a temporary exhibition, and includes many other personal effects that belonged to the artist. The Musée Marmottan has the World’s largest collection of Monet paintings, not all of which are on permanent display. For this temporary exhibition, everything in the Museum’s collection is on display until February. It really should not be overlooked, the hype over the exhibition at the exhibition at the Grand Palais notwithstanding.

Read more about Monet at Musée Marmatton, Paris 2010 – 2011, and book your tickets on that page. You reserve a ticket for 10.45 and are allowed entry any time during the day.

There are currently two temporary Monet exhibitions in Paris that will close in 2011. There is the Monet retrospective at the Grand Palais – organised by the Musée d’Orsay, and there is another at the Musée Marmatton Monet, from 7 October 2011 through to 20 February 2011. This exhibition, Claude Monet: son musée, presents for the first time the whole collection of Monet owned by the Musée Marmatton Monet – the biggest single collection of Monet paintings and other artefacts in the World. On show are 136 pieces by Monet, as well as a few others by his contemporaries.

The Marmottan Museum became a museum in 1934 following an incredibly generous donation to l’Académie des Beaux-Arts by Paul Marmottan. Later, in the 1960s Michel Monet gave the Museum a significant number of his father’s paintings, drawing and other objects.

The paintings the Museum has in its collection are some of the more iconic ones – those paintings missing from the retrospective on at the Grand Palais. These include the painting that gave rise to the Impressionist movement, namely Impression, soleil levant (above, a painting depicting sunrise over the harbour at Le Havre), paintings of the parliament buildings in London, the Cathedral in Rouen, the Japanese bridge at Giverny and of course some of his final paintings of the water-lilies.

BOOK YOUR TICKETS FOR THE MONET EXHIBITION AT THE MUSEE MARMOTTAN MONET HERE
On the first page, click on a time (within a box – those times not in a box are nolonger available) and date of your choice. The next page will automatically appear. On the next page you will be asked to first choose the number of tickets, and in what category. Then lower down the same page, you choose the payment option: unless you have a choose “Carte bancaire, Carte privative & Cartes Cadeaux” – credit cards being ‘carte bancaire’. Then click on ‘Poursuivre’ at the bottom right.

Opening Hours:
11.00 am – 18.00 Tuesday to Sunday
11.00 am – 21.00 Thursday
Closed on Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May.

Entry Fee €9
Reduced price €5, children under 8 free

Getting there:
2 rue Louis-Boilly
Métro Ligne 9 Muette
RER Ligne C Boulainvilliers

And, don’t forget about the exhibition Claude Monet, at the Grand Palais, Paris.

Claude Monet, 1878, The Rue Montorgueil in Paris. Celebration of June 30, 1878. Oil on Canvas 81 cm x 50 cm. © Musée d’Orsay.

Today, on the eve of what is being billed as one of the most significant art exhibitions in Paris for years, it is hard to imagine that the artist in the spotlight was once dismissed by the very nation that now holds him up as a national hero. Tomorrow, 22 September 2010, is the opening at the Grand Palais in Paris of the first major retrospective in thirty years of Claude Monet’s work.

Today Nicholas Sarkozy, the President of France, in a Foreword to the exhibition catalogue describes Claude Monet as “unmistakable emblem of the international influence of French culture”. Nearly 150 years ago, art critics scoffed at Monet and his friends’ new style, calling it “delusional”. Prominently displayed in the retrospective then is Monet’s Rue Montorgueil (above), a painting that depicts the celebrations at the end of the World Fair of 1878 and demonstrates French nationalist and republican enthusiasm of the time.

The Monet exhibition in Paris is expected to break all attendance records – which is not surprising really given that no movement in the history of Western art is more popular than Impressionism. A movement of art for which Claude Monet is widely regarded as its father.

With nearly 160 of Monet’s oil paintings on exhibit, this exhibit is by far the biggest collection of his paintings bought together in one exhibition. Sadly, because of institutional rivalries, some of Monet’s iconic images will be missing from the exhibition – including the painting that gave its name to the movement, i.e. the painting of the Le Havre harbour at sun rise, Impressionism, soleil levant (below).

To see those ‘missing’ paintings – go to Musée Marmottan Monet, where from 7 October 2010 – 20 February 2011 their entire collection will be on display for the first time ever.

These paintings aside, the Monet exhibition in Paris is a must for anyone with even the remotest interest Impressionist art.

Visiting Paris? See my Paris Impressionist Guide, where you will find information on other Impressionist-related sites and museums in the French capital.

It is no longer possible to buy ticket for this exhibition online. You can, however, buy tickets online for what I believe is a much better exhibition at the Musée Marmottan Monet, also in Paris, the museum that has the World’s biggest collection of Monet’s paintings and drawings. For more information, and a link to buy tickets, click here: Monet at the Musée Marmottan, Paris.

Opening times:
Friday to Monday 9h to 22h,
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 10h à 22h,
Thursday 10h à 20h
Last access – 45 minutes before closing
24 and 31 December 2010 – the exhibition shuts at 18h
25 December 2010 – the exhibition is closed

Entry Fee 12€
Reduced to 9€ for people aged between 13 and 25, and unemployed

Would you like to take a 5 day guided tour of Monet’s Normandy, while staying in a luxury B&B? Now is your last chance this year to see Monet’s garden in Giverny, and then visit the two Monet exhibitions in Paris, as well as some of the other landscapes and cityscapes in Normandy the Impressionist artists painted … Guided Tours of Monet’s Normandy.

Buy a copy of the Catalgue online – cheaper than at the gallery.

Need a hotel? click here for best deals on Paris hotels.

For Monet fans visiting Paris, getting from Paris to Giverny, even for just a day-trip, is not only easy it is very rewarding and should definitely be done. Interestingly, and perhaps not that surprisingly, the connection between Gare Saint Lazare and Monet goes back to the 1870s. During the winter of 1876/7 Monet painted the station at least seven times, and together these paintings play an important part in the development of Impressionism.

Monet had been living in Argenteuil since 1872, mostly painting the countryside, when he moved to Paris for a few months at the end of 1876. During that winter he rented a studio on the Rue d’Edimbourg and began painting a series of paintings of the the Saint Lazare railway station, including the three interiors of the train shed below, and Le Pont de l’Europe from the tracks of the station. In so doing he shared an interest in urban subjects with the other Impressionists, Caillebotte, Manet and Degas.

Claude Monet, Gare Saint Lazare Ligne d’Auteuil, 1877. Oil on Canvass. 75 cm x 100 cm. © Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Monet’s paintings of the Gare Saint Lazare were included in the third exhibition organised by that group of painters increasingly being known as Impressionists. Monet’s Lazare paintings were thought to be amongst the most original of the paintings on show on Rue Le Peletier in 1877. One of the reasons being, they had few if any, precedents in French painting.

Claude Monet, Gare St Lazare: Ligne de Normandie. 1877. Oil on Canvass. 59.6 cm x 80.2 cm. © Chicago Institute of Art.

Considering what the station would have been like in the 1870s, it is not difficult to understand why the station attracted Monet, who was particularly interested in painting contemporary life. For someone who always sought the changing effects of light and movement, the station with it clouds of steam and altered light from the skylights of the train sheds, in 1877 provided a radical and very modern motif.

Claude Monet, Gare St Lazare Ligne d’Auteuil, 1877. Oil on Canvass. 80.33 cm. x 98.11 cm. © Fogg Art Museum. Harvard University. Cambridge. Massachusetts.

So, when catching the train at Gare Saint Lazare for Giverny, pause for a moment, and consider the station as it might have been for Monet. Click on the link for detailed directions for getting from Paris to Giverny, using various modes of transport.

Currently on show at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne is a collection of 19th and 20th Century European masters from the permanent collection of the Städel Museum in Frankfurt. Besides a remarkable collection of German artists, the exhibition also includes art works by some of the greatest French, Belgian, Dutch and Swiss masters of the 19th and 20th centuries. Chronological themes therefore range from Neo-Classicism, to Realism, Impressionism and Symbolism works, as well as some German Expressionist paintings and sculpture.

But one of the paintings, Claude Monet’s Le déjeuner (1868, pictured here below), will be making an early departure from the Melbourne exhibition on 1 September. The departure is a planned one, because the painting will be included in the Monet retrospective at the Grand Palais, Paris, opening on 22 September 2010.

In 1870, Monet submitted Le déjeuner to the Paris Salon, but it was rejected because it was thought to be too radical in the way it portrayed a simple domestic scene.

The Deputy Director of the National Gallery of Victoria, Frances Lindsay, said: “The last chance to see this superb painting will be Wednesday 1 September. The Gallery will be open until 9pm to ensure the painting is sent off to Paris in style! We will be holding a very special art after dark event for all Monet fans featuring Melbourne’s very own gypsy brass band The WooHoo Revue followed by a can-can extravaganza.”

Claude Monet, Le déjeuner, 1868. Oil on canvas. 231.5 cm x 151.5 cm. © Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main.

The exhibition European Masters: Städel Museum, 19th–20th Century is on display at NGV International, Melbourne, until Sunday 10 October. The exhibition is open daily from 10 am – 5 pm, and on Wednesday until 9pm: NGV exhibition website. The audio tour of the exhibition can be downloaded from the website.

If you need a hotel for your stay, follow the link to choose from over 170 hotels in Melbourne.

When Claude Monet died, Georges Clemenceau was there to pay a final farewell to his long-time friend. It is said that upon finding Monet’s coffin draped with the customary black pall Clemenceau snatched away the cloth and replaced it with a multi-coloured shawl, saying “Pas de noir pour Monet.” (Not black for Monet.)

Monet and Clemenceau were close friends; the twice Prime Minister of France was a vocal and very prominent supporter of Monet’s art at a time when some of the critics were still very hash in their criticisms.

Georges Clemenceau was the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. He led France during much of the final year of World War I, and was one of the key figures involved in the the Treaty of Versailles at the Paris Peace Conference in the war’s aftermath.

To celebrate Armistice (11 November 1918), Monet decided the day after to donate two of his very large paintings of water lilies to the state. But, it was Clemenceau who persuaded him to donate the whole project. And it is these paintings of the water lilies, the Grand Decorations, that are now housed in the Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris.

A new book, Claude Monet – Georges Clemenceau: une histoire, deux caractères, that explores the relationship between Claude Monet and Georges Clemenceau by Alexandre Duval-Stalla and published by Gallimard, will be released in October to coincide with the opening of the Monet exhibition at the Grand Palais. You can pre-order a copy via Amazon here:

My thanks to MGN reader Julien Somter for drawing my attention to this new book.

Shortly after moving to Giverny in April 1883, Claude Monet began painting some of the local landmarks. The church at Vernon was one of these, and he would revisit this subject again 11 years later. Another very quaint, historical landmark he painted in the summer of 1883 is the Old Bridge; definitely worth a quick visit for anyone on their way to Giverny via Vernon.

Anyone coming from Paris to Giverny by train, it is at Vernon where you get off the train and head to Giverny by other means. Giverny to Vernon is only a few kilometres, and if the weather is good, cycling is a popular option – bicycles are available for hire at the train station in Vernon. On your way to Giverny, while crossing the River Seine and looking to the left you will see the remains of an old stone bridge, those painted by Monet in 1883 while on a boat on the Seine.

These remains were once part of a Medieval bridge built King Philip II while he was at war with Richard the Lionheart; he had the stone bridge built so that he could move his troops across the river with ease. The bridge was heavily protected, on the south side was a town, Vernon, with its castle and walls, and the remains of a keep are still visible today. While on the north side of the river, in what is today Vernonnet, there is what was a fortified bridgehead, today called the Tourelles Castle.

The bridge very quickly became an economic feature rather than a military one, and soon there were five mills built on it as well as some fisheries. But the bridge was never well maintained and soon fell into disrepair. Originally built with 25 arches, by 1830 there were only 8 left standing. The bridge was originally abandoned as a fully functional bridge in 1651 when two arches were lost during a particularly bad flooding event.

There have been a series of other bridges across the Seine at this point, but most have been destroyed in various wars and battles. The bridge in use today was opened in 1954, and is named after the World War I Prime Minister of France Clemenceau, a friend and supporter of Monet and his art, and who owned a house in a nearby village.

What remains of the houses on the old bridge today, 2010.

For anyone wishing to stay overnight in Vernon Booking.com lists Hotels in and near Vernon for you to choose from.

Honfleur is a quaint seaside town on the Normandy coast. It is a popular tourist attraction today, and deservedly so. There are traditional narrow, cobble-stone streets that are still lined with old timber-frame houses that lead away from a 17th Century harbour. A wonderful setting for a few days holiday, or a great day out. Monet was also inspired by Honfleur, and that part of the Normandy coast.

Monet visited Honfleur a number of times, and painted a handful of canvasses there. Above is his painting of the bell-tower, Le clocher Sainte Catherine, a wooden belfry and bell-ringer’s home, that unusually stands apart from the church.

Today the bell-tower is an annex of the Eugène Boudin Museum. The main galleries of the museum that houses an impressive collection of pre-impressionist and impressionist paintings are located in the Augustine church and a few modern extensions. The bell-tower houses work of a religious nature, such as sculptures and other local religious items.

The Museum has 92 works by Eugène Boudin, who was born in Honfleur. And it was Boudin as Monet’s mentor who encouraged the young Claude Monet to paint outdoors. This wonderful collection of Boudin’s is displayed alongside that of his friends, such as Mozin, Monet, Dubourg, Jongkind, Pécrus, Courbet, and Cals; all well-known local artists from the 19th century.

Honfleur is well worth a visit, as is a visit to the Musée Eugène Boudin – for more information about the museum, such as prices and opening dates and times, follow this link.

There are over 25 hotels in Honfeur to choose from should you wish to take a break in this wonderful seaside town on the Normandy coast.