In 1890, the year he turned 50, the leading Impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840–1926) purchased an estate in the Norman hamlet of Giverny and made it his final home. A few years later, he created a “water garden” featuring a pond with water lilies. The pond proved to be the artist’s greatest source of inspiration, continuously occupying his mind from then on. The theme of the present exhibition is the art of Monet’s later years, centering on his “Water Lilies.”
Monet faced many difficulties during these years, including the loss of family members, a serious vision impairment, and the tragedy of the First World War. But nothing could deter him from his “Grandes Décorations,” a scheme for covering the walls of a room with huge canvases depicting the surface of the water-lily pond. The exhibition focuses on the many large “Water Lilies” he created in pursuit of this project. Because Monet was averse to disclosing unfinished projects, he kept most of these works in his studio until the end of his life. The only person allowed to take away one of the large water-lily decorative panels was the Japanese industrialist and collector Matsukata Kōjirō (1866–1950). He eventually collected more than 30 pieces by Monet, including those he purchased directly from the artist when visiting Giverny in 1921. They are today among the highlights of the collection of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo.
This exhibition represents the largest gathering of Monet’s “Water Lilies” ever seen in Japan. The 64 paintings include some 50 items from the collection of the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, which are shown alongside works from the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo and other Japanese collections.
Exhibition Details
Venue: The National Museum of Western Art
Location: 7-7 Ueno-koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo
Schedule: 5 Oct (Sat) 2024 – 11 Feb (Tue) 2025
Hours: 9:30 am – 5:30 pm, Fridays and Saturdays during exhibition period 9:30 am – 9:00 pm
Closed: Mondays, 15 October, 5 November,28 December, 2024 -1 January, 2025 and 14 January（Opens 14 October, 4 November, 2024, 13 January, 2025, 10 February and 11 February）
Fee: Adults 2,300 yen, college students 1,400 yen, high school students 1,000 yen
More Information: https://www.nmwa.go.jp/en/exhibitions/2024monet.html
