It isn’t often that one encounters a giant line at the MFAH, at least in my experience. Sunday morning, though, was the members’ only early entry day to the exhibit Monet and the Seine, and also the final day for the exhibit. As a result, when we got there the line was out the front door, and it just seemed to get longer as we waited:
I fully understand that they can’t let everybody in at once, and it was obvious that the staff had not at all anticipated such a turnout. What was it about Monet? Or was it the special early entry? Who knows. In the end, Erin and I got in at 11:30ish, and Mom and Beatrice went in straight away. They’d printed their tickets at home.
The exhibition itself was fascinating for me. As with so many Impressionist paintings, I am amazed at how much control the artist shows over their medium and their subject, while still being loose and dreamy in their actual application. I mean, the light of the river reflections was so real in some of those images, yet up close the canvas is just a bunch of random-seeming blobs of paint. This is why we have to step back and look from a distance even while we’re working, yes?
One interesting thing this particular collection did was gather several similar views of the river that were painted on different days and at different times. I really liked seeing those works next to each other on the wall. Not only could I clearly see many different techniques across the canvases, but to watch the way he approached the changing light across a single landscape was intriguing.
Basically, I wandered the exhibit saying, “I just want to hug them!” and worrying the security guards.
After Monet, we went across to the gift shop, by way of the Wilson Tunnel installation by James Turrell. Always a great place for a selfie.
