Monet, as you have never seen him before, is the promise made by the National Gallery when describing its new spring exhibition and it is certainly true. No one and no art gallery has ever approached this famous Impressionist painter in quite the same way as this exhibition does.
Forget any ideas of looking at dreamy pictures of water lilies. Instead, this exhibition focuses purely on the buildings, the architecture which often as acted as a framework for Monet’s exploration of light and air. He wrote “other painters paint a bridge, a house, a boat. I want to paint the air that surrounds the bridge, the house, the boat.”
The resultant exhibition demonstrates the sheer extent of Monet’s talent, skill and expertise. The images of the Cathedral of Rouen are almost like Victorian photographs full of detail when viewed from a distance. Get close up and impressions change as the images become almost abstract depictions of color. Equally memorable is The Church at Varengeville, which is surrounded by a beautiful luminous mist. He painted all types of buildings from a splendid Doges Palace in Venice to tiny village houses and churches as well as countless Parisian scenes. The result is a stunning collection of paintings that enthrall and capture the imagination of everyone who sees them. Stay is always a question when it comes to living in a place as a tourist. Book your stay at
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There are numerous images of London at the turn of the twentieth century. It was in 1901 that ‘Monet’ came to stay in London for a while, taking a room in the Savoy Hotel. Although his initial reactions to London were very negative – he actually described London as being ugly – Monet found the city to be a source of inspiration. He painted countless scenes from the balcony of his hotel room and was particularly attracted by the images of the various bridges across the River Thames and the Houses of Parliament. This exhibition reveals all the never seen art gallery collection of ‘Monet’ first time open for the public.
In total 75 paintings by Monet are on display in this high profile exhibition. Many of the paintings are on loan from collections across the world, brought to London specifically for this exhibition.
Monet & Architecture is at the National Gallery until July 29.
