The year 2026 is dedicated to Claude Monet, marking the centenary of the artist’s death. To commemorate this occasion, the Musée de l’Orangerie has organized the exhibition «Monet and Time,» offering a fresh perspective on the master’s work.
The exhibition traces the artist’s entire journey—from his early Impressionist canvases, which sought to capture the fleeting moment, to the famous *Haystacks*, *Rouen Cathedral*, and *Poplars* series, in which Monet explores how light, weather, and time transform a single landscape. The culmination is the *Water Lilies* cycle—the defining work of his final decades—where the instant dissolves into the infinite flow of time.
Around forty paintings from the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée Marmottan Monet, and major private collections have been brought together for the first time around a single concept: to show how the perception of time evolved in Monet’s painting.
Naturally, this narrative resonates with particular power at the Musée de l’Orangerie, home to the famous *Water Lilies*. In the 1950s, André Masson dubbed this ensemble the «Sistine Chapel of Impressionism.» This exhibition is not merely about a great artist; it is also about time, memory, and the power of painting to capture the elusive.
