Lovely "Public Parks, Private Gardens - Paris to Provence"

Camille Monet painted by Claude Monet, 1876
Downstairs from the "Heavenly Bodies" exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Robert Lehman Wing is another beautiful show that I really enjoyed called "Public Parks, Private Gardens - Paris to Provence." In the nineteenth century, Paris was transformed into a city of tree-lined boulevards and parks, and in the country gardeners cultivated their private lands. The Impressionists, who were renowned for recording the fleeting moment, were the perfect artists to capture this combination of nature and refinement. This show is made up of art from the museum's permanent holdings, and it's like a vacation to floral France.

Below we have Adolphe Monet Reading in a Garden by Claude Monet from 1867. Adolph is Monet's father and this bucolic scene is set in his aunt's garden on the coast  of Normandy –

The elegant father is dressed in the men's fashion of the day including black jacket, white shirt, dove grey trousers and straw hat with a black band. This is a good look to copy!

Here is the detail of another Monet painting in the same garden and same gentleman from a different view. I like this outfit –

This is an 1884 study for Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. Seurat's final masterpiece hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago and inspired Stephen Sondheim's breathtaking musical Sunday in the Park with George, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1985. In a shimmering pointillism style, this painting illustrates how much the Parisians enjoyed their city parks –

Manet painted this vision of his wife Suzanne in a garden in 1880. Manet renders his subject in broad, joyful, energetic brush strokes. As Madame Manet rests under the shade of her hat, the green verdant garden behind her comes alive –

I particularly like the paintings where the people seem to blend into the flowers, like the painting at the top of this post of Mrs. Monet who fades into the sun-dappled garden.
Below is the Garden at Vaucresson by Edouard Vuillard from 1920. In a garden in front of a pale pink house with a bright red roof, the woman on the right appears to bloom out of the roses –

The garden come inside in Degas' A Woman Seated Beside a Vase of Flowers from 1865. The sitter seems to be enveloped by the arrangement and appears to be one of the blooms.

The beauty on view shows a lovely style for living that still inspires. See it if you can - this show ends July 29.

Don't Miss Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity

For a peaceful visit to a more elegant era, go see Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, up now through May 27th. It's a wonderful trip to late nineteenth century France complete with masterpiece paintings, clothes from the period, and accessories to match. This show, which came from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris (one of my very favorite places to visit) and goes next to the Art Institute of Chicago, celebrates how fashion and art merged in Impressionism paintings to create truly modern works.

Previously, artists of the nineteenth century had looked for inspiration to ancient Greece (Neoclassicism) or to nature (Romanticism). But the Impressionists were inspired by contemporary life and how people were living every day. With the rise of the department store, ready-made garments, and fashion magazines, clothes and style became prominent subjects for these artists. "The latest fashion is absolutely necessary for a painting. It's what matters most," declared Edouard Manet.

The show consists of 80 paintings plus 16 period costumes and an array of accessories. You can almost hear the rustle of silk, and imagine settling into a box seat at the Paris Opera as you move through the exhibit which transports to another time and place. No photography is allowed inside but I gathered up images of some of my favorite paintings on display –
James Tissot painted the family of the Marquise de Miramon on their terrace. With dramatic high boots, the Marquise is wearing a dove grey suit, but it's a relaxed country suit and not a structured city suit. (click on images to enlarge)

Here is The Sisters by Berthe Morisot. I love how the pale wall, Asian art, floral chintz and dotted dresses all go together in this painting.

Albert Bartholome captured his wife reading. The details of the carved frame, vase of flowers, gold bracelets, glossy hair comb and printed pillow create a pleasing scene. The information card said that this pictured her before entertaining. Doesn't everyone lie down and read a book before entertaining?

A woman is portrayed relaxing in a summer dress in July by Tissot. Although you can imagine it is a hot day, she is pictured in tiers of fluttering ruffles and silk bows.

This is one of my very favorite paintings and I was so happy to see it in person as it's on loan from the National Portrait Gallery in London. Colonel Frederick Gustavus Burnaby is pictured by Tissot languidly smoking in his captain's uniform which flatters and elongates his 6' 4" body. I love the contrast of the soft shabby-chic upholstery and chintz with the severity of the military paraphernalia. The scene captures an easy elegance.

Here is a picture of Eduard Manet painted by Georges de la Tour in 1867 in which Manet wears a typical menswear outfit of the late nineteenth century – white shirt, blue tie, black jacket and vest plus light grey pants and brown leather gloves – easy to replicate minus the silk top hat and walking cane.

The show closes with Paris Street by Gustave Caillobotte, a very large painting which perfectly captures urban life in 1877 as these Parisians stride confidently and with style into the future. 

The show is accompanied by a luxurious, thick catalogue

which includes many interesting essays on the paintings and clothes presented.

This show inspires the visitor to live a more refined life. I hope to see it again.