It’s the exhibition for the end of 2010 and Paris’ Grand Palais is confident that they will improve on the record numbers that came for the recent Picasso exhibition. We give you all the details, opening hours and even a link to pre-book your tickets (strongly advised)…
Paris is pretty lucky when it comes to Monet ; we have the Musée Marmottan with lots of his paintings, the Nymphéas with their own rooms at l’Orangerie and Giverny‘s only an hour away by train. But from September 2010 we’ll be going one better with the biggest Monet exhibition in thirty years, organised by the associated national museums and the musée d’Orsay.

The last large Monet exhibition in Paris was in 1980 (at the Grand Palais once again), and since then much research has been done about the artist, bringing to light many lesser known aspects of his work. The exhibition will showcase Monet’s entire career which started in 1860 (60 years of painting!) and his evolution from a young, rather traditional artist to his blossoming as an impressionist whose work was sometimes on the verge of abstract.

From Normandy to Paris, via London, the centre of France or Rouen, Monet created a new style and palette of colours, often painting the same scene in several different lights to incredible effect.

At 50 he created his garden at Giverny, and it was to become an endless source of inspiration for his paintings. The light, the seasons, the flowers… his deep attachment to nature inspired him daily at all times of year.

The retrospective at the Grand Palais – containing nearly tow hundred Monet pieces – mixes famous and lesser known works and tries to surprise the visitor, especially with its use of juxtaposition, helping you to have a new view of the paintings and show that Monet was an extraordinarily modern artist (after all, he died only 84 years ago!).

The Paris Claude Monet exhibition is at the Galeries nationales in the Grand Palais (here) from 22nd September – 24th January 2011. Open every day except Tuesdays and Xmas day from 9am – 8pm (last ticket). Admission 13€ / 9€. A joint ticket with the Orangerie is also available for 19€.

Guided visits (90 minutes, 9€) and kids workshops (2 hours in all, with a special guided visit, 10€) are also available.

Official Grand Palais site: www.grandpalais.fr

Advance ticket sales (strongly advised) are here.