August 5, 2006
Monet in Normandy
Yesterday we went to the Palace of the Legion of Honor to see the Monet in Normandy show, which was quite good. It was a bit of a madhouse, but not as bad as other shows recently (my elbows definitely got a better workout at the Art Deco show a couple of years back).
Let me give some advice: skip the audio tours. I did not listen to the one for this show (I never do), but I can guarantee that you will not learn anything that you will retain from one of those stupid audio tours. Also, they totally louse up the experience of viewing art, not to mention the traffic snarls they create as they route people to the same paintings without the benefit of a docent to say, "hey, let's talk about this one, as there are already fifty people hanging around that one."
Really the best way to approach Monet is just with the eyes, hooked up to the brain. There is value in learning about the painter and his context, and you can get quite a bit from the wall text, which was remarkably free of babbleshit, and you can read up before or after.
Anyway, the show is pretty straightforward. If you like Monet, you will like this show (unless you are wanting to see specific works that are not there).
If you don't like Monet, well, upstairs you can see some wonderful baroque paintings upstairs in the permanent collection, as well as a Fra Angelico of St. Francis meeting St. Dominic, some outstanding and overlooked gems from the nineteenth century, and can go downstairs to see some good ceramic works.
Posted by erik at August 5, 2006 9:57 AMOn Sunday, Dec. 11th,2006 I took my oldest son (an art history major in college) to view the show in Raleigh North Carolina. I completely agree with erik's comments.
The show was a bit crowded, therefore it was a bit difficult to view some of the works from a distance (as they should be viewed). Most of the crowd tried to get as close to each painting as they could, read the wall panels or listen to the audio (which my son and I also declined), and then move on. On the rare occasion that I was able to view individual works from a few feet away...I was in awe. The works range over more than forty years of his life, and one can easily see the development of his work over time from the 1860s through the early 1900s.
To understand what you are looking at..some of the most famous paintings in the world ...from the originator of the impressionist movement, and to understand that the young artist that created these masterpieces some 140 + years ago, often sold them one or two at a time to pay for meals or his monthly rent, makes the experience even more valuable. I have them memorized...I now see them in my head forever, 50 magnificent works of art.
Posted by: at December 10, 2006 7:27 PMI like Monet. A lot. And I'm jealous you're getting to see so much of his stuff.
Posted by: William Luse at August 8, 2006 1:45 PM