Monet / Mitchell

A fresh view of Monet and Mitchell, two of the most experimental painters of the twentieth century.
 
French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840-1926) famously drew inspiration from nature near his home in Giverny: from sunlight on the Seine, textured flowers in his garden, weeping willow trees, and waterlilies floating below his Japanese bridge. In 1967, American abstract expressionist Joan Mitchell (1925-92) moved to Vetheuil, a village just miles from Monet's estate. There, the French landscape began to emerge in her paintings: the branches of a linden tree, expansive fields, tangles of greenery, and the river and sky.
 
Monet / Mitchell: Painting the French Landscape examines the aesthetic and thematic dialogue between these important artists, the subject of a 2023 exhibit at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Twelve paintings by each artist reveal similarities in their subject matter, composition, vibrant color, and gestural brushwork.

About the Author

Simon Kelly is curator of modern and contemporary art at the Saint Louis Art Museum. He has published extensively on 19th and early-20th century French art. Kelly's recent co-curated exhibitions include Millet and Modern Art: From Van Gogh to Dali (2020), Paul Gauguin: The Art of Invention (2019), Degas, Impressionism, and the Paris Millinery Trade (2017), and Impressionist France (2014). He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate from Oxford University, where he also taught art history.