We are in the closing days of our Paris sojourn. We’ve been running around the last few days and, on this cold Sunday afternoon— 51 degrees, feels like 48– we decided to stay home. Our plan is a little composing (him) and a little blogging (me) followed by a late afternoon Moroccan feast of tajines, couscous & veg — just purchased on our last foray to our local Sunday market.  We’ve been eying his stall for weeks and today we pounced.

We’ve seen a ton of art on this trip and a couple of surprising themes emerged. Lots of Monet and lots of little (and even under the radar) museums.

Monet every day

Well not quite daily but we saw him first  at the Orangerie Musee (see earlier post) where his panoramic murals of his beloved lily pads create a meditative moment.  We saw him again briefly when we visited our old friends, the Impressionists, on our requisite visit to Musee D’Orsay.  

I returned to Giverny with my sister in tow to see Monet’s Gardens, flowers and home.  The bridges, the lily-pad studded pond, the row boat all reveal the deep well of inspiration of Monet’s home in the country.  

We also discovered another artist inspired by both Giverny and Monet.  There’s a lovely little museum on the property that showcases the delicate, intense paintings of Japanese artist Hiramatsu Reiji who clearly fell under their spell.

Our last money shot  (errr Monet spot!) was at the Musee Marmottan Monet.  One of the largest private collections of Monet works are hiding in this museum where there was no line or crowds to enter.

Inside, the beautifully maintained home with its spectacular paintings, furniture, sculptures, was a delight to wander through. A particular treat was their charming collection of paintings by Berthe Morisot, one of the few women Impressionists to achieve acclaim.

But where were the promised Monets?  A small sign led to the gift shop and an even smaller sign led to a staircase down.

Oh, mon Dieu!  What riches lay below in this spacious, perfectly lit and temperature controlled basement.

Of course, there were the requisite paintings of Giverny in all its lush beauty.  But there were also incredible paintings of family, cities, waterways, trains and more.  I never realized the breadth of his subject matter.  In fact, one painting was apologetically missing from the Marmottan.

 It is the star piece in the current exhibit on “The Impressionist Moment” at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.  The luminous seascape is called “Impression, Sunrise.”

While we didn’t see that iconic painting we did see a few of its brethren. To say we were blown away by the scope and quantity of Monet’s work would be understating our emotional experience in this nearly empty, treasure chest of a museum.

In other art news, We did not do the Louvre though we did try our first day. But we did do the Musee Pompidou for the first time.  I did not like the current Surrealism exhibit because it was designed as a maze and I have claustrophobia when I feel trapped in a space. So I raced through and made it to the main collection which was a fantastic surprise.

I was expecting super modern, intellectual  art but the galleries were filled with familiar names from Chagall to Warhol.  And I discovered another artist, Bang Hai Ja, whose works deeply moved me and the lovely J who found her way down to the main collection as well.  We had fun exploring these relatively quiet galleries after the crowds and often disturbing works in the Surrealist exhibit above.

Last night, we went to a classical concert at St. Chápelle church.  I think we have “done” the arts and culture scene of Paris and I look forward to my tajine dinner watching “Heartland, season 17” on Netflix and staying cozy at home.

But for you, dear readers, I leave a final treat. A video (after the photos) of the Eiffel Tower doing her nightly sparking light show like a cancan dancer kicking her heels! 

Article about the Monet at D.C. show:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/interactive/2024/claude-monet-impression-sunrise/