Aha

When looking at art, "aha moments" happen to others, I thought... until I was struck by one of these a few months ago at the Musée de l'Orangerie during my last trip to Paris. I went to see the temporary exhibition Dada Africa, Non-Western Sources and Influences, and by habit, walked through the two elliptical rooms full of tourists making selfies with Monet's Water Lilies in the background.
Even though I visited the permanent collections at numerous occasions, I had the feeling of looking at Monet's murals for the first time. Surrounded by the quiet water sometimes shivering, sometimes dazzling under a ray of sun, and the water lilies floating among willow branches caressing the pond, relishing the blues, greens, pinks, yellows, it was like viewing a poem in colors. I walked along the paintings, back and forth, "in" and "out". Immersed in the monumental compositions, filled with awe, I forgot tourists and time. Contemplating nature distilled by the painter, I reached a calming, deep spiritual state.
Each experience is different and mine was nothing compared to Stendhal's ecstasy while visiting Santa Croce: " I had reached that point of emotion where the heavenly sensations of the fine arts meet passionate feelings. As I emerged from Santa Croce, I had palpitations...., the life went out of me and I walked in fear of falling."
At another level, I realized that several chapters of art history were in front of my eyes at once. I could see a figurative impressionistic scenery from afar and closer, an abstract landscape. Of course, this is not news for Monet's connoisseurs. But it was the first time I became acutely aware of this through my encounter with his work.
How could I have missed so much all these years? Jaded by too many reproductions of the Water Lilies on umbrellas, coffee mugs, calendars, ..., too many poorly displayed Nympheas in museums, I had given up on seeing them. It took that special day to discover, in Monet's words, the "illusion of an endless whole, of a wave with no horizon and no shore".

photographs by the author

"Water Lilies" (details) at the Musée de l'Orangerie

A modern palace

This is the last day of the exhibition titled: " Monet-Warhol: Masterpieces From the Albertina and the Batliner Collection" at the National Gallery in Prague or to be more specific the Veletrzni Palace (Art from the 20th and 21st Centuries)

Two months ago, a large panel advertising the exhibition greeted me at the airport. Paris was struck by a Monet fever with two exhibitions, one at Le Grand Palais and the other at the Musee Marmottan. Of course, I was curious to see Monet in Prague. My deception was great when I realized that only one of his paintings was on display at the entrance, "The Water Lily Pond", 1917-1919. The rest of the exhibition was composed of mediocre works from known painters like Max Ernst, Dubuffet, Fontana, Sol LeWitt, Matisse, Kandinsky and more and of course a few Warhol. No photographs were allowed. The 80 works were on loan from the Albertina's permanent collection in Vienna.

However... the visit was worth it. First, I discovered another area of Prague, after a trip with the tramway from the Vltava river to the hills with a beautiful view of the city.

I was also able to visit the permanent collections. The building itself is modern, vast with ample space to display the collections of modern and contemporary art dispersed on 5 floors. Like any building in Prague (it seems) it has its own history. Built in 1925-29, it was destroyed in 1974, and rebuilt to reopen in 1995.

There was a disclaimer at the beginning of the exhibition of International Art, the collection is still modest due to the country's isolation during the Communist regime. Some of the paintings were not in great condition, but one could find Klimt, Egon Schiele, Edward Munch, Egon Adler, Otto Dix, Georg Grosz to name a few.

Czech artists were well represented, and I discovered most of them

Of course, an area was occupied by the works made in glass.

I spent several hours in the Museum, and forgot that I came to see Monet-Warhol...so much more.

photographs by the author

1.The introduction to the exhibition with three sculptures: " Six Headed Horse", Germaine Richier, 1956, " Standing Cardinal", Giacomo Manzu, 1978, "Under the Bridges of Paris", Max Ernst, 1961

2." Castle with a Moat", Georg Klimt, 1908-1909

3."Family Trip", Max Ernst, 1919

4."Great Dialogue", Karel Nepras, 1966

5."Three Dimensional Composition for the World Exhibition", Rene Roubicek, 1922