How does one actively engage in the process of recreating atmosphere, weather, nature? How can an artist have us experience the nebulous states of water, such as a waterfall or a stream? Or the way a sudden wind can extract the illusion of emotion in a sweeping motion against a silent pond?
If you can feel a breeze or hear the water just by looking at something, the painting itself creates a memory in a sense. Water Lilies(1906) by Monet seems to invoke a timeless sense of motion in the way the grasses and lillie’s are pulled upward with the delicate waves of the pond. Monet(14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) had created many different works of varying Lilly paintings that scoped different types of scenery and atmosphere, and within the last decades of his life he lived near the rural Giverny, some 50 miles to the northwest of Paris.
Joan Mitchell, 1925–1992, an American artist who lived nearby Vétheuil, in Monet’s house in France, created expansive, panoramic and large scale impressions of landscapes that had a flair of a similar brushstroke to the original French master.
Mitchell’s, River, 1989 is an oil on canvas and feels more comfortable in a state of unrest than in a canvas. The feeling of motion it seems to imply is how I feel when looking upon her paintings.
JOAN MITCHELL, IN FILM “JOAN MITCHELL: PORTRAIT OF AN ABSTRACT PAINTER“
To describe your paintings as a repeated feeling in a poem holds a timeless sentimental value in storytelling as well as drawing a direct link to the viewer. I feel that between Mitchell and Monet, to hold these two artists side by side is a truly intense experience. They both have a voice that I feel is wholly different yet in tact with a representation of what makes art truly human in every aspect: the way we feel about our environment is how we feel about ourselves.
It’s a mirror into our own eyes and our lives and these two artists are showing us this. A small glimpse into the intricacies and deep well that creates memory, thought, ideas and emotions.
At the Saint Louis Art Museum, we can see such an exhibit with Monet/Mitchell: Painting the French Landscape. The dates that the exhibit will be held will be from March 25–June 25, 2023.
Judith H. Dobrzynski from the Wall Street Journal stated of Monet and the exhibit:
“That Monet came so close to complete abstraction is just one surprise in this beautiful, uplifting exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum.”
This fresh new discussion on impressionist art which includes a scholarly catalog, published by Hirmer, with contributions from Simon Kelly and curators from the Fondation Louis Vuitton and the Musée Marmottan Monet will focus on 24 paintings, 12 from each artist.
To schedule your trip and journey into these two fascinating and brilliant artists, please follow this link here for more information about the exhibit, the paintings that will be in the showcase and the times and dates available for your party and group.
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