Monet And Chicago Is An Emotional Display Of One Of The Greatest Artists Of All Time
Petya Georgieva, Contributing Writer|October 18, 2020
Monets Water Lillies was finished in 1906 and is on display at the Art Institute.
If there must be one word to describe Claude Monets work, that word inevitably is light. The light in its all nuances is the main force that consciously or subconsciously catches the eye and takes it to a journey through sincere emotions and moods.
In the midst of a pandemic, the Art Institute of Chicago is hosting an exhibition of Claude Monet , Monet and Chicago, Sept. 5 through Jan. 18, 2021. The exhibition is a result from a long relationship between Monets work and the Art Institute of Chicago, which, in the 1880s, was the first American museum that acquired a painting by the Father of Impressionism.
In the following years, the museums Monet collection has grown through generous donations. Among the 33 paintings and 13 drawings are canvases from the series of the famous Stacks of Wheat, the Waterloo Bridge in London, Monets favorite obsession the Water Lilies series and caricatures from his early years as an artist.
Monet combined self-assertion, generalization, and escapism. In the process, he defined a new, powerful avant-garde, wrote John Haber in his review of the Monet retrospective at the Art Institute in 1995, which was visited by millions and tickets were in great demand. A display from Chicago Tribune 1995 classifieds of tickets for sale are also part of this years Monet in Chicago exhibition.
The Caricatures Come To Chicago
As a teen living in Le Havre on the Normandy Coast, Monet produced hundreds of drawings, many of them caricatures, both in pocket-sized sketchbooks and on presentation-sized sheets of paper. Carter H. Harrison Jr., former two-time mayor of Chicago , acquired 10 of Monets caricatures and later donated them to the museum as part of a larger collection of 19th- and 20th-century French drawings.
Claude Monet
Monets early caricatures are probably the first works for which he was ever paid and form an idiosyncratic chapter of his oeuvre. The Art Institutes groupone of the most significant in a public collectionis representative of the drawings range and complexity. Unlike many of Monets other caricatures, which were copied or adapted from published originals, several in this gallery are his own compositions, likely commissioned by local townspeople.
Monet Retrospective At The Art Institute Of Chicago
The Art Institute Of Chicago is the owner of one of the largest art collections in the United States. It is based on donations from collectors of the city and other individuals. The most significant gifts came from M. Ryerson, Berta Honoré Palmer, Annie Swan Corbun, Frederick Clay Bartlett, and Helen Burch Bartlett. The museum building, built in 1893, is located on Michigan Avenue.
The collection of the Art Institute is rich mainly in paintings. Interesting is a small collection of works by Dutch artists of the XVII century, which includes paintings by Rembrandt, Jacob Van Reisdal, Frans Hals, Jan Wall. Paintings by 19th century French painters Jean François Mille, Camille Corot, Charles Dobigny, Eugène Delacroix, Narcis-Virgil Diaz de la Peigny, and Theodore Rousseau are widely represented. The museum was world-famous for its beautiful collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. Here you can admire such masterpieces as Pierre-Auguste Renoirs Breakfast of the Rowers and On the Terrace, Paul Cézannes Swimsuits, and Madame Cézanne in the Yellow Chair, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrecs The Moulin Rouge, Georges Seras Sunday Walk on the Isle of Grande Jacques, and Paris Street. Rain by Gustave Caibott, Self-Portrait and Arles Bedroom by Vincent van Gogh. The gem of the collection is a collection of more than 30 works by Claude Monet, including several versions of Water Lilies and six canvases of the series Haystack.
Don’t Miss: When Is Taste Of Chicago 2021
The Art Institute Of Chicago Explores The Citys Enduring Love Of Monet
The exhibition “Monet and Chicago”, currently on view at the Art Institute of Chicago, focuses on the connection between the Impressionist painter and Americas Second City. It brings together over seventy works from the Art Institutes holdings and Chicago-based private collections.
Claude Monet, Water Lilies, 1906, oil on canvas.Courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection.
Claude Monet, Water Lilies, 1906, oil on canvas.Courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection.
Claude Monet, Apples and Grapes, 1880, oil on canvas.Courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago, Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection.
Claude Monet, Sandvika, Norway, 1895, oil on canvas.Courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago, Gift of Bruce Borland.
Claude Monet,Stacks of Wheat , 1890-91, oil on canvas.Courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago, Potter Palmer Collection
The Annie Swan Coburn CollectionThe exhibition also highlights the contributions of another female collector: Annie Swan Coburn. The wife ofa prominent patent attorney,Lewis Larned Coburn, she began collecting art after his death in 1910, amassing an impressive collection of French Impressionist paintings. When she died in 1932, Mrs. Coburn left the Art Institute more than one hundred works of art.
His First Exhibition In The United States
Despite Durand-Ruels promises of a ready market in the United States, Monet never traveled there. Rather, he grew increasingly frustrated by the prospect of his works leaving for the land of the Yankees and hoped that some could be kept in Paris, which he believed remained the only place where there is still a little taste.
An exhibition of 20 paintings from Durand-Ruels collection opened at Thurbers Art Gallery in Chicago in May 1888the earliest documented display of French Impressionist art in the cityin which Monets paintings were described as the most fascinating among them. Chicago quickly became a strong competitor in the growing American market. A second exhibition of French paintings from Durand-Ruel, including works by Monet, was held there in October, prompting a reviewer for the Chicago Tribune to declare, Why go to Paris since Paris has come to Chicago?
Also Check: Taste Of Chicago 2021 Schedule
Modern And Contemporary Art
Pablo PicassoThe Old Guitarist
The museum’s collection of modern and contemporary art was significantly augmented when collectors Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson gifted 40 plus master works to the department in 2015.Pablo Picasso‘s Old Guitarist, Henri Matisse‘s Bathers by a River, Constantin Brâncui‘s Golden Bird, and René Magritte‘s Time Transfixed are highlights of the modern galleries, located on the third floor of the Modern Wing. The contemporary installation, located on the second floor, contains works by Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Cy Twombly, Jackson Pollock, Jasper Johns, and other significant modern and contemporary artists.
Claude Monet In Chicago
On Claude Monet: 1840-1926 at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Was there any pressing need, apart from the considerable pleasure of seeing a lot of fine pictures, for the Art Institute of Chicago to organize a major Monet retrospective, his largest exhibition to date, drawn from public and private collections all over the world? Over the past few years, the art of Monet and his colleagues has been probed from every possible direction. Recently, “Origins of Impressionism” studied the young Monet and his fellow New Painters in relation to both the establishment and the radical artists of their day, while the Art Institute’s own brilliant “series” exhibition examined Monet’s repetitions and variations of his favorite motifs. The lush survey of his late work, “Monet’s Years at Giverny was a while ago–1978–but a representative mini-Monet retrospective can be seen any day at the Metropolitan, not to mention the spectacular three-panel Water Lilies at MOMA, which…
You May Like: Chicago Taste Of Chicago 2021
European Painting And Sculpture
The museum is most famous for its collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, widely regarded as one of the finest collections outside of France. Highlights include more than 30 paintings by Claude Monet, including six of his Haystacks and a number of Water Lilies. Also in the collection are important works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir such as Two Sisters , and Gustave Caillebotte‘s Paris Street Rainy Day. Post-Impressionist works include Paul Cézanne‘s The Basket of Apples, and Madame Cézanne in a Yellow Chair.At the Moulin Rouge by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is another highlight. The pointillist masterpiece, which also inspired a musical and was famously featured in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Georges Seurat’sSunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte1884, is prominently displayed. Additionally, Henri Matisse‘s Bathers by a River, is an important example of his work. Highlights of non-French paintings of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection include Vincent van Gogh‘s Bedroom in Arles and Self-portrait, 1887.
In the mid-1930s, the Art Institute received a gift of over one hundred works of art from Annie Swan Coburn . The “Coburn Renoirs” became the core of the Art Institute’s Impressionist painting collection.
The collection also includes the Medieval and Renaissance Art, Arms, and Armor holdings, including the George F. Harding Collection of arms and armor, and three centuries of Old Masters works.
African Art And Indian Art Of The Americas
The Art Institute’s African Art and Indian Art of the Americas collections are on display across two galleries in the south end of the Michigan Avenue building. The African collection includes more than 400 works that span the continent, highlighting ceramics, garments, masks, and jewelry.
The Amerindian collection includes Native North American art and Mesoamerican and Andean works. From pottery to textiles, the collection brings together a wide array of objects that seek to illustrate the thematic and aesthetic focuses of art spanning the Americas.
The Art Institute’s American Art collection contains some of the best-known works in the American canon, including Edward Hopper‘s Nighthawks, Grant Wood‘s American Gothic, and ‘s The Child’s Bath. The collection ranges from colonial silver to modern and contemporary paintings.
You May Like: Hotels Along Michigan Avenue Chicago
Monet And Chicago Exhibit Now Open At The Art Institute
Last updated on September 28, 2020 by Hayley Grgurich
Monet and Chicago at the Art Institute of ChicagoBuy tickets
The Art Institute of Chicago has long been home to the largest collection of work by Claude Monet outside of Paris. Beginning this September, that collection will nearly double in size with the opening of a new special exhibit Monet and Chicago.
Spanning more than 70 pieces, Monet and Chicago features some of the Impressionists most famous paintings, alongside sketches and drawings that reveal the craft behind the legendary artists works.
Monet and Chicago will be the first exhibit to trace the artists connection to the city, a place that was an early champion of the founding father of the Impressionist movement.
Monets introduction to Chicago came in 1888, when he presented his work in a local gallery alongside his peers. In 1895, the Art Institute hosted Monets first solo show in the U.S. Shortly after, it became the first American museum to purchase one of his paintings.
The temporary exhibition also offers an opportunity to view Monets paintings in a new light. Recent advancements in research and scientific analysis provide visitors a deeper insight into how Monet created some of the most revered works of art of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Monet and Chicago opens its doors for member previews Sept. 3 4, and welcomes the public Sept. 5 Jan. 18, 2021.
Learn more about the Art Institute safety measures and plan your visit.
Monets At The Art Institute
Claude Monet
Today, the museums 33 paintings and 13 drawings constitute the largest collection of works by the artist outside of Paris. Among the more than 70 paintings in the exhibitionfrom the Art Institutes exemplary holdings and esteemed Chicago-based collectionsare beloved major works as well as rarely seen still lifes, figural scenes, seascapes, and landscapes, spanning his long career from early caricatures made at Le Havre to the last splendid canvases inspired by his garden and water lily pond at Giverny. Monet and Chicago also benefits from new art-historical research and in-depth scientific study of his materials and techniques and offers an opportunity to look more closely at the artists oeuvre through our ever-advancing understanding of his creative process.
Its not difficult to see what inspired such devotion and passion in these early Chicago collectors. Its the same appeal that drew a million visitors to a Monet retrospective at the Art Institute in 1995 and draws crowds to the galleries today. Perhaps Claude Monet said it best:
Every day I discover more and more beautiful things, he wrote. Its enough to drive one mad.
Read Also: Coleman’s Bbq On Chicago Avenue
Videos: A Closer Look With Conservation
Conservators have used advanced imaging technologies to gain insight into Monets unique approach and evolving masterpieces.
Discovering Monet | The Beach at Sainte-Adresse
Discovering Monet | On the Bank of the Seine, Bennecourt
Discovering Monet | Beyond the Surface
Sponsors
Lead support for Monet and Chicago is generously contributed by
THE KENNETH C. GRIFFIN CHARITABLE FUND
Lead Corporate Sponsors
Major funding is provided by Lesley and Janice Lederer, the Shure Charitable Trust, Richard F. and Christine F. Karger, Mark and Charlene Novak, and Margot Levin Schiff and the Harold Schiff Foundation.
Additional support is contributed by the Alice M. LaPert Fund for French Impressionism, Alison R. Barker in honor of Ruth Stark Randolph, the Kemper Educational and Charitable Fund, the Rose L. and Sidney N. Shure Endowment, Gail Elden, and Michelle Lozins.
This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
How Chicago Became A Monet Destination
A new exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago explores the Impressionist painters connection to the Midwestern city
Daily Correspondent
Stacks of Wheat
Claude Monets en plen air studies of light dancing across fields and multi-colored fog have won Chicagoans admiration since the Impressionist painters works were first exhibited in the city in 1888.
Why go to Paris since Paris has come to Chicago? a reviewer wrote for the Chicago Daily Tribune at the time.
More than a century later, a 1995 Monet retrospective at the Art Institute of Chicago proved so popular that people flooded the Tribunes classified ads in search of tickets to the sold-out show.
As Chicago Tribuneart critic Steve Johnson points out, Monet never actually visited the Midwestern city. But thanks in large part to Chicagos wealthy collecting class, the Art Institute now houses 33 paintings and 13 drawings by the artistthe largest trove of his works outside of Paris, according to a statement.
In Monet and Chicago, which opened this month with new social distancing guidelines in place, the Art Institute traces the unique connection between the French painter and the Illinois metropolis.
There are many faces of the Art Institute, but people do associate Monet with us, curator Gloria Groom tells the Chicago Sun-Times Kyle MacMillan.
The Beach at Sainte-AdresseOn the Bank of the Seine, BennecourtWater Lily Pond
Also Check: Best Buffalo Wings In Chicago