Taking a Breather During the Holiday Madness
Sneaking off to see Monet in Venice at the Brooklyn Museum is the best gift I've given myself this year
Hello, Gorgeous!
Earlier this year I posted about a new habit I’d hoped to get into more regularly, something I called Art Bathing. The idea resonated with many of you.
Taking an art break before the holiday chaos
Despite my best intentions though, I haven’t been indulging in as many museum visits as originally intended.
Last month we went to see Monet and Venice at the Brooklyn Museum for my mom’s birthday. The show is a big deal, since it’s the first major exhibition in over a century dedicated to Claude Monet’s Venetian Cityscapes. Drinking in all that beauty — and soaking up the fascinating and poignant backstory — allowed my chaotic world to shrink into the rear view mirror for a few hours.
“Venice… no…I will not go to Venice.”
~Claude Monet
Monet in Venice
By the time Claude Monet reached 68, he was cranky and somewhat uninspired. In the fall of 1908, his wife Alice dragged him (practically kicking and screaming) from his gardens in Giverny to Palazzo Barbaro in Venice, for his only visit to Venice.
One of the more fascinating elements of Monet in Venice are works of art by other artists including Canaletto, Paul Signac, John Singer Sargent, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir who interpreted many of the same scenes. Some played with angles and illusion the way Monet translated light.
One painting that blew me away was the photo-realistic color play in John Singer Sargent’s 1899 portrait of the palazzo’s American owners. It felt like a sneak peek into Monet’s Venice, but not for the purity of it. For the reminder that patrons were behind the scenes of it all — the lodging, the art, the contrast between artists.
Alice became ill soon after their trip, and died in May 1911. On the night of her death, Monet wrote to his friend, French art historian and novelist Gustave Geffroy, “My poor friend, it’s over. My beloved companion died this morning at 4:00. I’m distraught, lost. Your friend. Claude Monet.”
But when he recovered a bit after a year of mourning, Monet was able to complete paintings he’d started during his time with Alice in Venice.
The exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum takes the underlying theme of water very seriously. From swirls of water on film as you enter, to so many differing works of art created during the same time period.
In one room in particular the walls are navy blue and rounded and the viewer is presented with nearly identical viewpoints of the canals. Some hazy. Some with more detailing. But the light captured was so pure and dare I say otherworldly, that I stood there sobbing taking in this great beauty.
Worth noting, there’s a recorded soundtrack, “Souvenir: Venise d’après Monet” composed for the exhibition by the museum’s composer-in-residence, Niles Luther. It envelopes you in the sounds that he felt should accompany the art. More persistent than the gentle waves, it felt like a perfect accompaniment to an unexpected body of work.
Interestingly enough, there’s something about being close up to a great artist’s signature that always gives me a rush. I can’t quite explain it. Sure there’s the brilliant talent on display, but that tiny bit of vulnerability, the flourish of personality. That gets me every time.
I’ve been to Giverny and remember meandering through Monet’s gardens trying to understand how he transformed the waterlilies into dancing light (there are a few of his waterlilies paintings on display at the exhibit).
In this exhibit though, we understand something about the ephemeral nature of art and love, as the light in Venice changes and the reflections shift on the water of the canals. In what might be my favorite bit of art bathing in a while, it felt like a baptism by art created in Venice.
You’ll need tickets for this one. You can plan your visit at brooklynmuseum.org
Can’t make it to the exhibit or want to get into the right headspace before your visit? Listen to Souvenir: Venise d’après Monet now.
Have you been doing any art bathing lately? Let’s meet in the comments to discuss!
Rachel, Your beauty concierge 💋