“Monet en Pleine Lumière”: the summer exhibition not to be missed at the Grimaldi Forum
Claude Monet, Villas à Bordighera, 1884, Musée Barberini © Akg / Musée Barberini
Monaco Tribune was able to discover this unique exhibition, which opens this Saturday, 8 July.
“I absolutely must stop in Menton, if only for a few days, to paint what I saw yesterday in Cap Martin. These are two absolutely exceptional subjects to paint from the same place by turning around”. These were the words spoken by Claude Monet in 1884, after discovering the beauty and light of the Côte d’Azur and Bordighera.
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The northern impressionist painter, more accustomed to the cold atmospheres of the north, painted profusely during his Mediterranean sojourn. And today, 140 years after his visit, the Grimaldi Forum is hosting an exceptional summer exhibition, with some one hundred canvases from the four corners of the globe adorning the walls.
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These are remarkable works, skilfully brought together, notably by Marianne Mathieu, curator of the exhibition. “I’m extremely moved and I must say that I’m very, very proud of the collective work that has been done,” she confides. “I’m extremely honoured that the Grimaldi Forum has placed its trust in me and that we’ve been able, with all these wonderful teams, to co-design this project, which really puts Monet’s work at the heart of the journey. It’s not a simple display of paintings: it’s not about lining up masterpieces. The aim is to encourage a genuine encounter between the visitor and the painting. (…) It’s an experience in painting, which has enabled me to discover things, to see things I hadn’t seen before. I’m very happy that it’s happening here, since I was born here and the more time goes by, the more my roots speak to me.”
You can discover different aspects of Monet’s life: his landscapes of Giverny and Honfleur, supported by plum-coloured walls (echoing the strong colours of Monet’s home), his explosion of azure colours, set against a Mediterranean blue, or his famous water lilies, floating on white panels as a sign of peace and tranquility…
“The aim of an exhibition is to magnify the works and allow us to see them properly,” emphasises Marianne Mathieu. “They tell a story. The scenography is designed with these different parameters in mind. What are the best ways to present and apprehend Monet’s work, to magnify it and make it an accomplished visual emotional experience? What messages do we want to communicate to visitors and share with them? That’s the job of scenography. Monet’s work radiates, and to truly appreciate it, it needs to be able to breathe on the wall, by making sure that the canvases aren’t stuck together, and that they can be seen from different distances.”
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Indeed: as we move closer or further away from the canvases, the painting transforms before our very eyes. In amongst the background noise, sometimes we heard Le Clair de Lune by a second Claude, Debussy, and occasionally the sound of the wind. For the wind was both ally and enemy to the painter, who didn’t draw and so sometimes found it difficult to paint his subject because of movement.
In fact, you may notice that some of the paintings are very similar, like the Monte Carlo vu de Roquebrune. This is to be expected: as an Impressionist, Claude Monet fixed his own impressions on canvas, painting the moment as it was. It’s a journey like no other that the Grimaldi Forum is offering until September 3. Note that the youngest visitors can also “paint like Monet”. with workshops for children aged 5 to 12.
“I hope for three things: that visitors will be transported by what they see. That they will say to themselves that Monet is a moment in time. And that water lilies are peace,” concludes Marianne Mathieu, with a smile.
Practical information on the “Monet en Pleine Lumière” exhibition:
- 8 July to 3 September, 2023
- Grimaldi Forum of Monaco
- Open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Thursdays until 10 p.m.)
- Full price: 14 euros
- Students under 25 / seniors over 65 / groups (10 people): 11 euros
- Free for under-18s (admission without ticket)
Ticket reservations on the montecarloticket website
Practical information for the youth workshops :
- 10 to 28 July, 2023
- Grimaldi Forum of Monaco
- From Monday to Friday
- Children aged 5 to 8: 10 a.m. to noon
- Children aged 9 to 12: 2 to 4 p.m.
- Prices: 25 euros per workshop / 110 euros per week
- Reservations: +377 99 99 30 00
- Workshop descriptions on the Grimaldi Forum website