Though a century apart, Claude Monet and Gerhard Richter redefined painting and the art world in their respective eras. Monet, rejected by the conservative Académie des Beaux-Arts in the 60s, founded the Impressionist movement by expressing his perceptions of nature as truly and immediately as possible. Light, color and form were the focus rather than figurative form. Richter, working since the 60s, has pursued arguably the most profound modern investigation into the nature and purpose of painting in the postwar era. While he creates in reaction to genres as diverse as Pop Art, photography and landscapes, Richter's abstract masterpieces bridge the gap between colorist and conceptualist and similarly break the paradigm of tradition.
The awaited online exhibition of Christie's Monet ǀ Richter (from 20 December 2020) addresses the implicit dialogue between these two eminent art visionaries and showcases the special collaboration between the departments of Impressionist and Modern and Postwar and Contemporary Art. Preview the evolution of the viewing room whose carefully curated pairings pose a fundamental challenge to the distinction between abstraction and representation.
Some works of catalog:
stamped with signature 'Claude Monet' (lower left); stamped again 'Claude Monet' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
66 1/2 x 48 1/2 in. (169 x 123.2cm.)
Painted 1914-1917
The maison à travers les roses
stamped with signature 'Claude Monet' (lower right)
oil on canvas
24 1/2 x 32 in. (62.3 x 81.5cm.)
Painted in Giverny about 1925-1926
Les Bords de la Seine près de Vétheuil
signed 'Claude Monet' (lower left)
oil on canvas
23 x 31 in. (58.4 x 78.7cm.)
Painted in 1881
Abstract Picture (828-4)
oil on canvas
48 x 40 in. (122 x 102cm.)
Painted in 1995.
Untitled (1.12.88)
signed twice and dated 'Richter 1.12.88 Richter' (lower edge); dated '1.12.88' (on the reverse)
oil on photograph
4 x 5 7/8in. (10 x 15cm.)
Executed in 1988
