Unknown Water Lilies version discovered beneath Monet's Wisteria

Restorers at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague have uncovered a previously unknown version of Claude Monet's Water Lilies hidden beneath his painting Blauweregen (Wisteria), dated 1917-1920. The discovery occurred about a month ago during cleaning, when restorer Ruth Hoppe noticed irregularities in the paint layer. X-rays revealed the hidden Water Lilies, which Monet had painted over after the canvas was damaged by glass shards from an Allied bombing of Givenchy during World War I. According to Doede Hardeman, head of collections at the museum, Monet applied retouches to conceal the damage. Hoppe suggests this may be Monet's last water lily painting, serving as an experimental bridge between his Water Lilies and Wisteria series. The Wisteria painting is currently undergoing restoration, funded by public donations, and will be featured in the upcoming exhibition Monet. The Garden Paintings at the Gemeentemuseum from October 12, 2019, to February 2, 2020. Monet's Water Lilies were originally intended for a large installation called Grandes Décorations, donated to the French state in 1918, but were placed at the Orangerie in Paris. The Wisteria paintings were excluded from that installation as secondary works.