Monet, Fromanger: an “unexpected dialogue” at the Musée Marmottan Monet
“Art cannot be a monologue,” said Albert Camus. Faithful to this truth, the Musée Marmottan Monet, once a collector’s house, is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year. In honor of this hallmark, it is initiating a new project: bringing in today’s artists to question the past and add their own history. First up: Marianne Mathieu, scientific director of the Musée Marmottan Monet, invited Gérard Fromanger. He was attracted to Paris, rainy weather, a painting by Gustave Caillebotte because the street is his favorite subject, and he found connections with his own series “Boulevard des Italiens.” This quickly led him to the Impressionists, particularly Monet, whose canvas Impression, soleil levant is arguably the museum’s masterpiece. The rising sun was represented a hundred years ago by Monet, who painted it from the window of his hotel overlooking the port of Le Havre… how to do it justice today? Fromanger answered with Impression, soleil levant 2019, as well as a selection of his works from “Boulevard des Italiens,” plus portraits in dialogue with works by Caillebotte and Pissarro. During the exhibition’s private opening, artists Julio Le Parc and Jean-Pierre Raynaud were in attendance, as well as former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin and curator Jean-Hubert Martin. This is the first of several “unexpected dialogues,” and on view until September 29th.
