October 5, 2022–February 27, 2023
Monet-Mitchell will create, for the first time, an artistic, sensorial, and poetic “dialogue” between the works of two exceptional artists: Claude Monet (1840-1926), with his Water Lilies, and Joan Mitchell (1925-1992).
Both artists made an impression on following generations of painters as well as on their own times.
A retrospective of Joan Mitchell’s artwork will complement this discussion and introduce her paintings to the European public.
These displays will display how each artist has responded differently to a common setting, which they have rendered in a very sensual and engaging way.
Monet attempted to imitate in his studio the patterns he saw on the surface of his Giverny water lily pond in his final paintings, the Water Lilies. Joan Mitchell, on the other hand, focused on a recollection or an impression of the emotions she experienced when in a special area. In 1968, she made a long-term move to Vétheuil, a tiny French village where Claude Monet had lived from 1878 to 1881.
Monet-Mitchell Dialogue
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The Musée Marmottan Monet, which houses the largest collection of Claude Monet’s artwork anywhere in the world, will collaborate with this exhibition to bring it to the public.
Monet’s Water Lilies gained popularity in the United States in the 1950s, when Abstract Expressionist painters saw them as forerunners of abstraction. Mitchell participated in shows focused on the idea of “abstract impressionism,” a phrase developed by her friend Elaine de Kooning, as part of this “Monet Revival.”
The exhibition, which brings together almost 60 iconic pieces by the two artists, will take viewers on an enchanted trip that is emphasized by eye-catching visual and thematic similarities. 36 Claude Monet pieces, including 25 significant canvases from the Musée Marmottan Monet, will be on display in the exhibition. It will provide a summary of Monet’s enormous Water Lilies, which are infrequently displayed without a frame. 24 imposing abstract paintings by Mitchell will be displayed beside these pieces.
Highlights of the exhibition include two exceptional bodies of work:
The Agapanthus Triptych by Claude Monet. For the first time, this nearly 13-meter-long triptych will be displayed in its entirety in Paris. These enormous canvases took Monet over ten years to complete, and he regarded them as “one of his four best series.” His later acceptance in the United States was greatly influenced by this triptych.
The La Grande Vallée series by Joan Mitchell. Nearly 40 years after its incomplete display at the Galerie Jean Fournier, 10 large-scale paintings are unusually gathered together (1984). It is regarded as one of her most significant series and a strong body of work. The paintings are distinguished by a profusion of color that covers the canvas, imparting a feeling of liveliness and jubilation.
Joan Mitchell Retrospective
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The most significant Joan Mitchell retrospective to be presented in Europe in more than 30 years will be this one.
About 50 pieces will be included in this retrospective, which will be co-organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), and the Fondation Louis Vuitton.
The show will look at an artist who is currently considered as one of the most important artists of the latter part of the 20th century.
A well-known personality in the New York art world, Joan Mitchell frequently spoke with artists including Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, and Philip Guston. Her vibrant and gestural paintings were influenced by her fascination in poetry and music, as well as her affinity for European artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Cézanne, Matisse, and Monet.
The retrospective will look at the significant series she produced in France and the US. Vétheuil was initially seen as the inspiration for her sunny, incandescent paintings, but quickly came to be associated with her polyptychs from the 1970s, such as Chasse Interdite. In the 1980s, the artist continued to produce vibrant paintings, including No Birds, a tribute to Van Gogh, and South, a famous recreation of Sainte-Victoire by Paul Cézanne, one of the greatest works in the Fondation’s Collection.
Fondation Louis Vuitton
8 Avenue du Mahatma Gandhi
75116 Paris
France