MFAH presents Monet and the Seine

By Sophie Newman, Arts and Entertainment Editor     10/28/14 4:07pm

I attended a preview of the new Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, exhibit “Monet and the Seine: Impressions of a River” amongst a crowd much more knowledgeable than I, both in the works of Monet and art in general. Slightly intimidated by fluent French speakers and people who have mastered the furrowed-brow-painting-examination method, I resigned myself to enjoy the impressive collection in my own, plebian way. 

While I cannot exactly quantify the pleasure I took from the paintings, I can say that, despite my lack of expertise, I was undoubtedly moved by Monet’s depictions of the Seine that are precise yet abstract, realistic yet magical.  

The exhibit divides Monet’s works into a series of rooms that follow a chronological and geographical progression, highlighting both his fascination with the Seine and his evolution as an impressionist painter.

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According to MFAH Director Gary Tinterow, the Seine became instrumental for Monet in developing his style of impressionist painting. 

“The Seine was without question [Monet’s] most important motif,” Tinterow said. “It is Monet’s river, and for that we treasure it.”

Because his subject is water, Monet fixates on the idea of reflection. Present in almost all of his paintings of the Seine is a horizon line dividing the canvas in half, which enables him to project mirror images of the landscape onto the water.

“It was critical to his career and revelation as an artist,” Tinterow said. “He discovered that putting his horizon line more or less midway … was an inexhaustible device.”

Helga K. Aurisch, curator of European art and co-curator of the exhibition, also spoke to this uncanny symmetry. 

“Some of these we could’ve hung upside down and you would never know,” Aurisch said. 

The reflections, for me, were truly the most remarkable and beautiful aspect of the paintings. Short brushstrokes, characteristic of impressionist style, exquisitely capture water’s reflective qualities. 

The exhibition, which includes more than 50 paintings in total (an impressive feat, considering the difficulty of achieving Monet loans), culminates with one of Monet’s more famous series, “Mornings on the Seine”, which was also the inspiration for the project. 

According to Tanya Paul, Isabel and Alfred Bader Curator of European Art, Milwaukee Art Museum, and co-curator of the exhibition, the series was instrumental in securing his role as the father of French landscape painting. 

The exhibition will be on view through Feb. 1 in the Law Building of MFAH. Student discount tickets available.

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