In a different light: How Venice fixed Monet - 48 hills

The exhibition presents Monet’s Venice paintings alongside works by Canaletto, John Singer Sargent, J. M. W. Turner, and James McNeill Whistler. Twenty Monet canvases are paired with a pacing that emphasizes texture and the passage of time, creating an experience of travel through another perspective. Context is expanded through paintings made before and after Monet’s 1908 visit, along with vintage postcards, historical photographs, and era artifacts. Art scholars, historical documents, and letters from Monet’s wife Alice Monet indicate Monet traveled reluctantly but benefited from his first and only time in Venice. After the trip, Monet exhibited 49 water lily paintings in Paris in 1909, receiving enormous critical acclaim.

"The de Young's Monet and Venice (through July 26) is a luminous and expertly curated exhibition, as much about affirmation as art. Something about the idyllic city paired the artist's painterly eye with a transportive pacing, matching his mastery off texture and times passage with an exhalation of joy. Long looks at Monet's 20 canvases on display reward viewers with not just transcendent art, but the simple pleasure of travel through another's excited, nostalgic eyes-especially comforting on a blustery April day's viewing."

"Because Monet was not the only artist attracted to "La Serenissima," the nickname attached to the Republic of Venice due to its peaceful atmosphere, the exhibit also incudes significant paintings, watercolors, and prints by Canaletto, John Singer Sargent, J. M. W. Turner, and James McNeill Whistler. A number of paintings Monet completed before and after his single sojourn to Venice in 1908, along with vintage postcards, historical photographs, and a collection of other artifacts from the era expand the context in which his artwork based on the city is considered."

"Art scholars and experts, historical documents, and letters written by his wife Alice Monet assert that Monet traveled to Venice reluctantly, but benefited significantly from his first and only time in the city. At age 68, having recently received poor response to his water lily paintings from a trusted advisor, Monet was at a low point in his career. Encouraged by his wife to leave France temporarily to work in Venice, Monet agreed to take a two-week trip with her. They ended up remaining for two months."

"Text on display at the de Young reveals that Venice rejuvenated Monet, who went on to exhibit 49 magnificent water lily paintings in Paris in 1909-two water lily paintings are shown here-that received enormous, critical acclaim. "Without Venice," says de Young curator Melissa E. Buron, "the work for which Monet is best known might not have reached the height of""

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