Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (2024)

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (1)

30 January - 20 April 2016

Main Galleries, Burlington House

Saturday – Thursday 10am – 6pm
Friday 10am – 10pm

Please note, paid tickets have now sold out. We recommend that Friends of the RA reserve free tickets in advance to guarantee entry at their preferred time.

Please note, Friends of the RA must show membership cards along with a valid ID (such as a driving licence, bank or credit card) at the gallery entrance. This is to ensure that Friends have the best experience possible. Membership is non transferable.

Friends of the RA go free

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Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (2)

Using the work of Monet as a starting point, this landmark exhibition examines the role gardens played in the evolution of art from the early 1860s through to the 1920s.

Trace the emergence of the modern garden in its many forms and glories as we take you through a period of great social change and innovation in the arts. Discover the paintings of some of the most important Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Avant-Garde artists of the early twentieth century as they explore this theme.

Please note, paid tickets have now sold out. We recommend that Friends of the RA reserve free tickets in advance to guarantee entry at their preferred time.

Monet, arguably the most important painter of gardens in the history of art, once said he owed his painting “to flowers”. But Monet was far from alone in his fascination with the horticultural world, which is why we will also be bringing you masterpieces by Renoir, Cezanne, Pissarro, Manet, Sargent, Kandinsky, Van Gogh, Matisse, Klimt and Klee.

For these artists and others, the garden gave them the freedom to break new ground and explore the ever-changing world around them. Highlights include a remarkable selection of works by Monet, including the monumental Agapanthus Triptych, reunited specifically for the exhibition, Renoir’s Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil and Kandinsky’s Murnau The Garden II.

As our galleries are bathed in the colour and light of more than 120 works, see the garden in art with fresh eyes.

Exhibition co-organised by the Royal Academy of Arts and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

  • Sponsored by

    Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (3)

Sponsored by BNY Mellon, Partner of the Royal Academy of Arts

Reviews

    "A ravishing joy from start to finish"

    The Guardian

    "A show that feels as intellectually invigorating as it is visually delightful"

    The Times

    "Time and space dissolve in pure shimmering light and colour"

    The Daily Telegraph

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (4)

See Painting the Modern Garden at the cinema

Delve deeper into the exhibition with the latest film from EXHIBITION ON SCREEN. Guided by expert curators, artists and garden enthusiasts, the film takes you on an immersive journey through the exhibition to discover how Monet and his contemporaries built and cultivated modern gardens. The film features work by Monet, Pissarro, Matisse, Sorolla and many more, experienced like never before on the big screen.

'Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse' screens in UK cinemas from 12 April and internationally from 24 May 2016.

Watch the exhibition trailer

Using the work of Monet as a starting point, this landmark exhibition examines the role gardens played in the evolution of art from the early 1860s through to the 1920s.

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A visit to Monet's garden at Giverny

Curator Ann Dumas introduces Claude Monet's garden at Giverny in Normandy, which is open to the public between March and November and maintained by a team of gardeners led by James Priest.

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A visit to Bonnard's garden at Vernonnet

Royal Academy Curator Ann Dumas introduces Pierre Bonnard's garden at Vernonnet in Normandy (now a private home), which the artist referred to as "mon jardin sauvage" (my wild garden).

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A visit to Henri Le Sidaner's garden in Picardy

Royal Academy Curator Ann Dumas introduces Henri Le Sidaner's garden in the medieval village of Gerberoy, Picardy, which provides the subject matter for a number of his works in 'Painting the Modern Garden'.

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A visit to Max Liebermann's garden in Wahnsee

A successful Impressionist artist, Max Liebermann moved here in 1910, building a grand garden and villa at the edge of a beautiful lake outside Berlin. Neatly dividing the land into a series of "rooms" and alleys, he reflects a formal trend in German garden design at the time– and then rejects any precision at all in his painting, depicting it with a wild flurry of brush strokes and colour.

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A visit to Emil Nolde's garden in Seebüll

Having exhibited with Kandinsky and other members of the German Expressionist groups, Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brücke, Emil Nolde moved north with his wife in 1927, building a house and garden in the countryside near the Danish border. Devoting most of his time to the garden and his work, he planted his favourite flowers – in a wilder, more homely style than Liebermann's – and then painted them in close-up views, focusing on their bright, saturated colours. We can still see the marks where he tested his colours on his outside cabin, next to the flower beds.

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Gallery

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (8)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (9)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (10)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (11)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (12)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (13)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (14)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (15)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (16)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (17)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (18)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (19)

  • Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (20)

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (21)

Exhibition tours

Get more out of the exhibition

Exhibition tours
45 minutes, free with an exhibition ticket, no booking required
2.30pm Wednesday, 7pm Friday (3 February – 13 April)

Keep an eye on our Twitter account for tour reminders.

See all events
Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (22)

Prints celebrating the Modern Garden

Art Sales at the Royal Academy is proud to present a diverse new collection of works celebrating the theme "The Modern Garden", in collaboration with the landmark show, Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse.

This special selection of limited edition prints includes works by Royal Academicians Norman Ackroyd, Christopher Le Brun and Olwyn Bowey as well invited artists Maciej Urbaneck, Hen Coleman and Charlie Fegan.

Browse art

Browse our collection of beautiful gifts inspired by the gardens of the Impressionists

Large Green and Cobalt Blue Vase

Exclusive to the Royal Academy, this beautiful vase has been made in collaboration with Poole Pottery. Using hand-painted green and cobalt reactive glazes, the result is a stunning bespoke piece which is truly unique.

Buy now

Hardback Painting The Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse

This beautifully printed book brings to life the story of gardens in art, as painted by the Impressionists. Among the first to portray gardens directly from life, the Impressionists chose to concentrate on their colour and form rather than using them as a background. This book focuses on Monet and the creation of his garden at Giverny and explores the relationship between artists and gardens.

Buy now

Poppies (A Study for 'Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose')

Purchase high quality art prints, framed prints and canvases from the landmark exhibition Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse.

Resources

Exhibition in focus guide

Read up on Monet and his contemporaries with our guide to the exhibition, a beautifully illustrated introduction which presents the central themes of the exhibition and key artworks. Written especially for secondary students and teachers, the guide is nevertheless suitable for all.

Download the Painting the Modern Garden exhibition in focus guide

Large print labels

Although large print labels will be available in every room of the exhibition, you can download them before arriving at the RA.

Download large print labels for Painting the Modern Garden

Art Detective: A Guide Through the Exhibition for Young Visitors

This exhibition explores the magic and mystery of gardens, and the passion that some of the most important artists of the 19th and early 20th century held for their gardens.

Let’s explore…

Download the Painting the Modern Garden Art Detective

List of objects proposed for protection under Part 6 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (protection of cultural objects on loan)

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts (2024)

FAQs

How to watch painting the modern garden Monet to Matisse? ›

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse streaming: where to watch online? Currently you are able to watch "Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse" streaming on Kanopy for free.

What is the message of Claude Monet's painting? ›

With his paintings, Monet strove to capture a fleeting moment by rendering the nuances of light and color. He wanted to depict the feeling or sensation of a scene, rather than the objects within the composition.

What is the message of the artist's garden at Giverny? ›

The Artist's Garden at Giverny has little historical context and no formal meaning by the artist. However, the arrangement of flowers and the instances Monet faced during this time suggest that the painting was created to depict peace and tranquility.

How many times did Monet paint his garden? ›

The water garden became the focus of Monet's art for the last twenty-five years of his career. He created more than 250 paintings of the waterlily pond. A master artist of woodblock prints, Hiroshige depicted the contemporary life and landscape of Japan, including famous sites such as the Tenjin Shrine.

How long is painting the modern garden? ›

Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse
Film Title:Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse
Genre:Documentary
Length:93mins
Year:2016
Country:United Kingdom
5 more rows

Where can I see original Monet paintings? ›

Monet's works are featured in top museum collections around the world including the Musée de L'Organerie, Paris, the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the National Gallery, London.

What color did Monet refuse to use? ›

No Black. Monet felt that black had a dulling effect, so instead of black, he used a color's complement to darken an area. For example, to darken something blue, he would add some orange or red.

What is Monet's most famous piece? ›

Of course, the most famous Monet paintings are those belonging to Impressionism. The movement got this name from the title of the most recognized Monet's painting; Impression, Sunrise. It was April 1874, when an exhibition in Paris was organized.

What is Claude Monet's most expensive painting? ›

$110.7 million. That's how much Monet's most expensive painting, “Meules,” sold for at auction in 2019. The painting is one of Monet's recognizable “Haystacks” series.

What happened to Monet's house after his death? ›

When Monet died, his son Michel inherited the house. He entrusted it to the care of his sister-in-law Blanche, who lived there until her death in 1947. The house then fell into disrepair and the garden was left to grow into a jungle.

Why is Monet's garden important? ›

Monet's garden was a living canvas. In this space he experimented with his love of color and form. His knowledge of color theory and his artist's eye informed the choices he made in his garden design. They offer good suggestions for the homeowner who is about to embark on their own planting project.

Can you get married at Monet's garden? ›

Inspired by Monet's home in Giverny, France. Monet Monet 30a is the premiere wedding venue in area. The grounds includes amazing garden scenery, a lily pond, bubbling fountains, and plenty of ways to create your very own, one of a kind wedding, reception or event within a tranquil setting.

Why are Monet's paintings so expensive? ›

As both a pioneer and leader in impressionist painting, Claude Monet challenged tradition in the art world. His inspiring and jaw-dropping paintings have led his work to be considered as priceless to many.

Is Monet's garden free? ›

Claude Monet's house and gardens at Giverny

Normal fare and seniors: 11 euros. Children over 7 and students: 6.50 euros. Disabled: 5.50 euros. Children up to 7 years old: free of charge.

What is the movie about Monet's garden? ›

Linnea in Monet's Garden (Short 1993) - IMDb.

Where can I see Tracey Emin art? ›

The artist's works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, and the Goetz Collection in Munich, among others.

How long does it take to see Monet gardens? ›

I wish we had had time to see it both morning and afternoon in order to see the different lights in which Monet painted. Helpful? You should allow at least 2 hours or more to thoroughly enjoy the gardens. The house is small and only takes about 15 minutes or so, depending on the crowd.

How do you view modern art? ›

Don't just glance at it; really study it and try to see all the details. Pay attention to the colors, shapes, and textures used. Think about what the artwork makes you feel. Does it make you happy, sad, angry, or something else?

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