Monet and Time: Orangerie Honors Centenary with 40 Works
To mark the centenary of Claude Monet's death, the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris presents an exhibition probing his enduring obsession with time. Featuring forty paintings, including the 1890s series Cathédrales, Meules, Peupliers, and Matinées sur la Seine, the show traces how Monet dissected the fleeting instant. The museum's oval rooms have displayed since 1927 the monumental Grandes décorations des Nymphéas — his pictorial testament to France after the 1918 armistice. Over 250 Nymphéas canvases absorbed his final three decades, culminating in what André Masson dubbed the 'Sistine of Impressionism' in 1952. In 1895, Georges Clemenceau saw a 'revolution without a gunshot' in the Rouen Cathedral series. Bergson's notion that 'duration is time lived and felt' echoes throughout. On view September 30, 2026–January 25, 2027.
Key facts
- Exhibition at Musée de l'Orangerie runs from September 30, 2026 to January 25, 2027.
- Commemorates the centenary of Claude Monet's death.
- Includes 40 paintings exploring Monet's relationship with time.
- Displays 1890s series: Cathédrales, Meules, Peupliers, Matinées sur la Seine.
- Oval rooms have housed Grandes décorations des Nymphéas since 1927, a gift to France after the 1918 armistice.
- The Nymphéas cycle comprises over 250 paintings created during the last 30 years of Monet's life.
- Georges Clemenceau described the Rouen Cathedral series as a 'revolution without a gunshot' in 1895.
- André Masson called the oval rooms the 'Sistine of Impressionism' in 1952.
Entities
Artists
- Claude Monet
- André Masson
- Georges Clemenceau
- Henri Bergson
Institutions
- Musée de l'Orangerie
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Rouen
- Jardin des Tuileries
- Place de la Concorde
- Seine