The most anticipated event of this fall is happening at the Louis Vuitton Foundation . The already cult Monet-Mitchell exhibition presents the dialogue between the works of the two exceptional painters with, as common thread, the mythical Water Lilies of the Pope of Impressionism . We made the preview visit for you.
Impressionism or expressionism?
The exhibition, sublime, operates a journey highlighting the agreements and similarities between the works of the two artists. Despite the difference in generation and cultural background ( Joan Mitchell was born in 1925 in Chicago , a year before Monet 's death ), it is enough to take a look at some of their works to establish the connection.
The two painters try their hand at the game of large formats in vertiginous perspectives which bring together for the first time the famous triptych of Monet's Agapanthus and the spectacular cycle of La Grande Vallée by Mitchell, works representative of the apogee of a period of exalted creation.
To better grasp the common points of these two undisputed masters, the two galleries on the ground floor also present a retrospective dedicated to the one who was nicknamed the “ Joan of art ” (the Joan of Arc… of the art): a free and conquering woman, with a colossal artistic culture, who drinks, smokes and dares to speak as loudly as a man.
French Feeling vs American Feeling
For a long time, Monet tried to translate his impressions as close as possible to reality. However, in his late works that adorn the walls of the Foundation, the motif seems to gradually recede without completely disappearing. In spite of some loss of perspective marks (and his vision problems), the contours of the forms are abandoned in favor of color through the capture of a fleeting light. Monet now prefers to “ let [r] many faults appear to fix [his] feelings ”.
The two artists thus share an acute sensitivity to light and colors, the interplay of which constitutes the very essence of their art. Mitchell seeks a synergy in his memory, his memories magnified by the exercise of painting and his feelings amplified by the knowledge of modern maestri such as Van Gogh , Cézanne , Matisse ...
Ultimate commonality? This relationship to the landscape so fusional and imbued with lyricism that takes us to the banks of the Seine .
Vetheuil vs Giverny
Based in France, Joan Mitchell draws her inspiration from her studio Vétheuil , in Vexin near Giverny . If it snows there one day, she immediately thinks of Monet's paintings: “ In the morning, especially very early, it's purple; Monet has already shown this… ” In fact, for Monet, mastered nature is concentrated in his garden, his “ most beautiful masterpiece ” : a flowery paradise with a pond lined with willows, in which aquatic plants grow and of course hundreds of water lilies .
The two will have devoted their life's work to the emotion provided by nature, through plays of light translated by blues, yellows, greens, reds, pinks and mauves. This incessant quest for the perfect color and this innate sense of observation will never cease to bring the two artists closer together.
Dialogue Claude Monet - Joan Mitchell , from October 5 to February 27, full price entry €16, open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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