Jonathan and I went to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City to visit the current Monet exhibit. After visiting Musee de l’Orangerie in Paris three years ago – where an entire room was dedicated to practically floor-to-ceiling paintings by the impressionist – it’s hard to be awed (pictures below).
But it was a good exhibit. It’s the first time in 30 years that three parts of this triptych have been reunited (each canvas is normally at the Nelson-Atkins, the St. Louis Art Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art) and only one other Monet triptych is in the U.S. (at the MoMA in New York). There is a lovely intro to the triptych with photos and videos of Monet painting in the garden he made in Giverny. Side note: I never imagined Claude Monet to look like this:
Anyway, the triptych is set in a dim room with lots of comfortable couches to sit and stare, examine and get up close and realize what it means to paint this massive painting over 10 years. In the next room there’s close-up shots of the painting with sketches of his studies. And then, introduce technology: four touch-screen tablets give visitors the ability to sketch their own Monet.
I present to you, my rendition of a flower and lilly pad, a la Monet.
And Jonathan’s masterpiece:
The Curated Life 