February 7, 2023
What would Monet and Mitchel talk about today?
Paula Latiegui

Monet-Mitchel is an exhibition of the Louis Vuitton Foundation in which the work of both artists is interpreted as a mirror, appreciating the similarities as well as the differences of portraying the same landscape

Until February 27th, the Louis Vuitton Foundation will exhibit the exhibition Monet - Mitchel, a dialogue between the works of the two great artists who, although belonging to different periods, coincided in interpreting and representing nature from the most abstract and personal vision, but in which clear points in common can be found.

The main point that unites them is that both artists shared the landscapes that inspired their work: Mitchell began living permanently in Vétheuil in 1968, while Monet lived in the small French town between 1878 and 1881
Installation view of “Monet – Mitchell,” including Claude Monet’s Weeping Willow and Water Lily Pond, 1916-1919, and Joan Mitchell’s Quatuor II for Betsy Jolas, 1976. Photo: Vogue © The Estate of Joan Mitchell, © Fondation Louis Vuitton / Marc Domage

The exhibition Monet - Mitchel consists of a retrospective dedicated to the work of the American artist Joan Mitchell, who died in 1992 and was a fundamental artist in contemporary pictorial abstraction, and Claude Monet, an essential figure in modern art worldwide. The main point that unites them is that both artists shared the landscapes that inspired their work: Mitchell began living permanently in Vétheuil in 1968, while Monet lived in the small French town between 1878 and 1881.

It was in the 1950s that Claude Monet's Water Lilies found recognition in the United States: when they were taken by Abstract Expressionist painters as precursors of abstraction. Joan Mitchell asserted her full artistic independence. Despite sharing the same landscape, the banks of the Seine, Monet and Mitchell developed a pictorial approach that they defined in similar terms, only Monet referred to "sensation" and Mitchell to "feelings".

Monet and Mitchell developed a pictorial approach that they defined in similar terms, only Monet referred to "sensation" and Mitchell to "feelings"

One more feature of both artists is that they shared an acute sensitivity to light and color, forming their art's basis. The key to evoking feelings and memories for Mitchell was his use of hedonistic color and vibrant light; Monet's late work was characterized by the abandonment of formal contours in favor of color, which he defined by capturing fleeting light.

Main image of the exhibition "Monet-Mitchel". Photo: Louis Vuitton Foundation

Through some 60 iconic works by both artists, the exhibition offers the public an experience akin to a dazzling and immersive journey, marked by striking parallels both visually and thematically.