Claude Monet was one of the most important impressionists, Joan Mitchell an important representative of abstract expressionism.
The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris has now brought the two together for a unique dialogue between two artists whose works are essentially nature transformed into colour, impressions and emotions.
On the one hand, the exhibition shows you the water lilies by Monet (1840-1926), in which the forms increasingly dissolve into rich shades of blue and green.
On the other, you see paintings by Mitchell (1925-1992) in which sweeping brushstrokes in bold and bright tones cover the canvas. These are works that shape landscapes, water, wisteria and weeping willows into feelings of colour.
Monet was a major influence on the American-born artist. When he died in Giverny, some 80 kilometres from Paris, Mitchell was just one year old. For Mitchell, Monet was her source of abstraction after she discovered his water lily paintings in the 1950s.
The show of works, which runs until February 27, presents over 100 works, including “L’Agapanthus”, three paintings by Monet shown together for the first time in France. They were painted between 1915 and 1926 and are now scattered in three American museums (Cleveland, Saint Louis and Kansas City). ©dpa
