In October I have visited Monet Mitchell exhibition and the Louis Vuitton Foundation which hosts every year few temporary exhibitions. The display is available for visitors from 5.10.2022 to 27.02.2023. If you’ve never visited the foundation, I strongly recommend to do so. The building has an interesting architecture, and from upper terraces you have a beautiful view at Paris.

A nice complement to the visit is a walk in adjoined Jardin d’Acclimatation which is a pleasant green area with horse riding facilities, the Korean garden, amusement park for children as well as small places to get snacks.

The Monet Mitchell Exhibition brings together a selection of late Monet paintings, which the artist created at his garden in Giverny with the canvas of Mitchell which she painted in Vetheuil, small town nearby Giverny.

The exhibition seeks harmony and resonance between the work of the two artists.

Displaying the art of Mitchell and Monet may seem unusual at the first glance. The painters come from different generations, Joan Mitchell was born one year before Claude Monet has died. Their art was for the first time brought together during a raise of American Abstract Expressionism in 1950s. Interestingly, Monet was then rediscovered as a precursor to American modernism. The connection between two artists is augmented by move of Mitchel to Vetheuil in 1968, the windows of the home in which she lived overlooked the one where Monet lived from 1878 to 1881.

Joan Mitchell told the American critic Irving Sandler that she admired rather the late works of Monet than the early ones. The exhibition highlights the approaches of the two painters which concentrate on impressions. Monet was defining his search as a pursue of “sensation“ whereas as Mitchel tried to find the “feeling”. For both of them this quest went down to transpose an emotion in front of nature.

Monet focused mostly on landscapes which were main subjects of his paintings. A very famous theme was his fairytale flower-filled garden and pond with freely floating water lilies. Mitchell painted landscapes observed from windows of her homes in La Tour, Vetheuil and from her property in one of the villages in Normandy.

Both artists were fascinated by surface of the water and its reflections, Monet painted his famous water lily pond with its aquatic plants whereas Mitchell featured Seine river.

The association of art of the two painters has also formal characteristics. Both preferred grand formats, a similar colour palette (but with different intensities) made up of blues, greens, yellows combined with reds, pinks and mauves.

In Monet’s work, applying the monochromatic smears softens the brightness which encourages the contemplation. Mitchell chose stronger colours and the brushstrokes are more energetic to create a dazzling tribute to the surroundings.

 

I could include even more impressions from my visit, but why not to check it out for yourself when in Paris between November and February? The grand architecture of the building, thoughtfully installed artworks and splendid views at the surroundings make the whole experience truly thought-provoking!