I’d all but given up on getting into Monet and Boston: Lasting Impression at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Every time I tried to score tickets it was the same story—sold out. On a lark I logged on one last time for a shot at the exhibit, which runs through March 28. Success! All 35 of the MFA’s gorgeous Claude Monet oil paintings were mine for the viewing. I headed into the big city. Please note: advance timed-entry tickets are required for all visitors, including members and children. No ticket sales on site at the Museum.
It’s been over 20 years since the museum has gathered together all of its canvases by the French Impressionist, but they are reunited, along with works by Hiroshige, Jean-François Millet, and Eugène Boudinand, and it feels so good. In all, over 50 works are on view, hung on jewel-colored walls across several galleries. The show is a visual delight for those who love pretty pictures, and lots of them, all at once. Count me in. In this exhibit, organized by Katie Hanson, associate curator of European paintings, patrons are given a rare opportunity to stroll through gallery after gallery of beautiful colors, stirring landscapes, tranquil domestic scenes, and light, captured seemingly at will by the artists and transferred from paintbrush to canvas.
Here are some pics:
Claude Monet, Meadow with Poplars, about 1875. This painting brings in so many of the motifs the artist would return to again and again—stacks of grain, poplar trees, and poppies, all rendered in a light and bright palette. This one has been part of the MFA’s collection since 1927.
Claude Monet, Camille Monet and a Child in the Artist’s Garden in Argenteuil, 1875. Monet and his wife, Camille, rented a home in this suburb of Paris, where Monet became seriously interested in gardening.
Claude Monet, Boulevard St. Denis, Argenteuil, in Winter, 1875. In this painting, Monet captures commuters in Argenteuil, off to the train for the15-minute trip to Paris. The artist organized his life so that he got to work from home and pop into the city only when he wanted to.
Claude Monet, Flower Beds at Vétheuil, 1881. The flowers, profuse and in full bloom are Monet’s. They lead down to the Seine as part of a terraced garden.
Claude Monet, Fisherman’s Cottage on the Cliffs at Varengeville, 1882.
Claude Monet, Valley of the Petite Creuse, 1889. Note the stripped-bare oak tree to the right. The oak’s leaves weren’t working for Monet, so he decided to do something about them. “I’m going to offer fifty francs to my landlord to see if I can have the oak tree’s leaves removed; If I can’t, I’m done for…” The landlord agreed. Up close the work, with its generous paint daubs, is reminiscent of a raised relief map.
It wouldn’t be a Monet exhibit without water lilies. The artist showed 48 paintings over his lifetime from the water lilies series.
Claude Monet, Grainstock (Sunset). 1891. Another of his famous motifs, Monet painted a series of grain stacks that were stored near his home in Giverny.
The Monet show was possibly the most socially distanced gallery experience I’ve ever had when viewing a major exhibit at the MFA. I don’t think I can ever go back to jockeying for position to view beauty, not after a visit this civilized.EXHIBIT: Monet and Boston: Lasting Impression
WHEN: The exhibit runs through Sun., March 28, 2021
WHERE: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 465 Huntington Ave.
MUSEUM HOURS: Wed. – Sun., 10am – 5pm
