The Stables of the Castle of Pavia present, from 14 September to 15 December 2013, an important exhibition dedicated to one of the greatest exponents of the impressionist movement: Claude Monet.
The exhibition "Monet au cœur de la vie" is curated by Philippe Cros, and presents a selection of works from prestigious museums around the world: from the United States of America such as the Columbus Museum of Art (Ohio) to France such as the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, from South Africa such as the Johannesburg Art Gallery to Romania such as the Mnar in Bucharest up to Latvia such as The Latvian National Museum of Art in Riga and from other important international venues.
The exhibition is a journey into the heart of Monet's life, told through the voices of six key figures in his human and artistic journey. The meetings, the successes, as well as the difficult moments have been reconstructed on the basis of precious letters – coming from the Musée des Lettres e de Manuscrits in Paris and exhibited in the exhibition – in which the painter recounts particular moments and moods of the life of he. Along the way, a series of suggestive video installations will emotionally prepare the public to relive the fundamental moments of Monet's life and to understand their relationship with the works presented in the exhibition. The words and the story have been conceived in harmony with the videos, sounds and works of art in order to create the most suitable conditions to stimulate the deepest emotions of the visitor towards a total fruition of Monet's work.
The exhibition begins with the beginning of Monet's artistic career narrated by Adolphe Monet, the father of the painter who had a rather contrasted relationship with his son both for his professional choice - above all because of his independent ideas in contrast to teaching of the Academy – both for his personal and sentimental choices. In the next room, Eugène Boudin will immerse the public in the artist's youthful years, characterized by the first experiments in painting en plein air and by innovative stylistic choices in contrast with the academic painting of the time. Boudin, French painter and Monet's first teacher, profoundly marked the artist's way of painting to the point that Monet confessed: "If I became a painter, I owe it to Eugène Boudin."
On display some important works by Boudin will show the fundamental role of the master in the formation of Monet and in the development of his style, as demonstrated by the work Bateaux à Etretat (Boats in Etretat) (1883) in which the artist uses the same pictorial technique of his master.
Through the sweet words of Camille Doncieux – first wife and mother of Monet's two children – the visitor will be able to relive a fruitful period in Monet's professional life. Camille played a central role in the artist's production, from 1860 to 1879, she was her favorite muse and model featured in most of his canvases until her untimely death at just 32 years old. Trips to Argenteuil, walks along the Seine and the sea with the family were also very stimulating from an artistic point of view for Monet who further consolidated the technique of painting in the open air and the study of light, also experimenting with new subjects such as Bateaux de pêche á Honfleur (Fishing boats in Honfleur) (c. 1866), La gare d'Argenteuil (The station of Argenteuil) (1872) and Printemps (Spring) (1873), works exhibited in this section.
During his artistic journey, Monet had to face a series of adversities due to economic difficulties, the heavy criticisms of the classicists and the constant refusals by the Salons. This particularly frustrating period for the artist will be recounted by one of his greatest supporters: Georges Clemenceau, the French politician – Prime Minister from 1906 to 1909 and from 1917 to 1920 – with whom Monet formed a strong friendship especially in the last years of the his life. It was precisely Clemenceau, in 1921, who commissioned Monet to create the famous Water Lilies for the Orangerie, defined as the "Sistine Chapel of Impressionism".
In this room, which symbolically aims to evoke the contrast between two different pictorial systems, the visitor will have the opportunity to compare the academic painting exhibited in the Salons represented by works such as Paysage maritime (Maritime landscape) by Jules Breton and Les Pyrénées (The Pyrenees ) by Marie Rosarie Bonheur – two artists highly appreciated by the critics of the time -, with the innovative technique used by the Father of Impressionism, represented in the exhibition by some emblematic works such as le marine, Pourville (Marina, Pourville) (1881) and Le Cap Martin (1884).
Accompanying the works will be the famous article – loaned exceptionally for the exhibition by the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna in Rome – by Louis Leroy which appeared in the Chiarivari magazine of 25 April 1874 in which it appeared for the first time, in a derogatory and highly critical sense , the term “impressionists”.
The story continues with Alice Hoschedé, Monet's second wife, who will tell the visitor about the journeys undertaken by the artist in the continuous search for stimuli, inspirations and new subjects to reproduce, such as the stay in Norway to research and study the effects of snow. Although the greatest masterpieces of the Master were born in this period - from 1880 to 1895 - Monet was continually dissatisfied with his works and the places he visited. These are the years in which the artist almost completely abandons the representation of the human figure to concentrate on the properly impressionist theme of the landscape, with particular interest in the luminous halo that surrounds nature. It is precisely in this period that Monet begins to paint the famous "series" in which the role of light becomes fundamental for the composition of the work as demonstrated by Waterloo Bridge (The Waterloo Bridge) (1900) and the suggestive Cathédrale de Rouen (The Cathedral of Rouen) (1894), protagonists of this section.
The exhibition closes with the words of Blanche Hoschedé, Alice's daughter and Monet's only pupil with whom the painter established a very close relationship in the last period – from 1914 to 1926 – spent in Giverny: a magical place, where the he artist was finally able to satisfy his desire for rural tranquillity. Blanche will tell the public about the painter's obsessive love for his marvelous garden at the house in Giverny, their outings to paint together in the countryside and the first symptoms of the cataract which significantly changed Monet's vision, and therefore also his perception of colours. . Some of Blanche's canvases exhibited in this section will show his impressionist style closely related to that of the Master.
In the last years of the artist's life, the house in Giverny became his only source of inspiration: a meticulously cared for garden where Monet also decided to build a Japanese bridge, evidence of his interest in the art of the Land of the Rising Sun. On display a series of precious prints by famous artists such as Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige underline the painter's strong bond with Japanese art.
A visit experience also continues outside the exhibition space, suggesting to the visitor an itinerary to discover some of the symbolic places of the city of Pavia recontextualized, for the occasion, in relation to Monet's artistic career.
A route designed to revive some very suggestive places in Pavia such as the botanical garden of the 1700s, or the beautiful Cathedral of San Michele, or even the historic Bonetta Civic Library and the Malaspina gardens, and finally the Ponte Vecchio over the Ticino river. In each of these places the visitor will be able to resume reading the story of the six characters reproposed in a real setting.
“Hosting Claude Monet's painting in Pavia is a source of great satisfaction for the whole city. The exhibition on Monet is part of an artistic journey in Pavia which in recent years has seen prestigious and appreciated exhibitions, as evidenced by the important numbers recorded by visitors, unprecedented for our city. In the splendid setting of the Castello Visconteo it is now time for Monet, for his colors and his shapes which have left indelible and fundamental marks in 800th and 900th century painting. The most impressionist of the impressionists, Monet, marks another moment of a very high cultural profile of which Pavia is increasingly proud" declare Alessandro Cattaneo, Mayor and Matteo Mognaschi, Deputy Mayor and Councilor for culture, tourism and territorial marketing of the Municipality of Pavia. The exhibition is promoted by the Municipality of Pavia, produced and organized by Alef – cultural project management with the patronage of the French Embassy in Italy and the Institut français in Milan.
For the entire duration of the exhibition, a series of educational activities and creative workshops will allow even the youngest to approach impressionist painting and the artistic production of the French painter.
Information
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