After the smashing success of 2021’s “Beyond Van Gogh” exhibit, a new immersive projection sensation is back at the Wisconsin Center – this time showcasing the illustrious career of French impressionist Claude Monet (Oct. 20-Jan. 8, 2023).
“Beyond Monet” is not your standard museum show – there are no framed paintings. Instead, projections of Monet’s works blanket the walls, ceilings and floors of three rooms, along with displays about the painter’s life. More than 400 of his pieces make appearances, including favorites like Water Lilies, Poppies and Impression: Sunrise. “[His paintings] are flowing all around you, and it’s a wonderful way of being inside the work itself,” says Fanny Curtat, an art historian working with the exhibit.
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But even Curtat says that while “Beyond Monet” is a way to “go beyond the frame,” it is not a replacement for experiencing one of Monet’s paintings in person. “There is nothing like the magic of an original,” she says. And Milwaukee is one of a few cities where you can see one. A family gave Monet’s Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect to the Milwaukee Art Museum in 1950. “That was really quite a significant gift,” says Tanya Paul, MAM’s curator of European art.
The oil painting is one of a series Monet created while visiting London. Paul recommends looking closely to notice the brushstrokes and range of paint application, from a thick impasto to a bare, almost stained canvas. “When you are standing in front of a painting, you are seeing exactly what the artist saw,” she says.
To see more of Monet, Paul suggests a trip to the Art Institute of Chicago, which houses over 40 of his originals.
For tickets and more information, go to monetmilwaukee.com.
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