Monet in Le Havre: an exhibition traces the origins of the Impressionist master

To mark the centenary of Claude Monet's death, the André Malraux Museum of Modern Art (MuMa) in Le Havre is dedicating a major exhibition to the years that shaped the future leader of Impressionism. Running until September 27, the exhibition retraces the period from his childhood to his first successes, unveiling rarely seen works, including his very first painting and his early sketchbooks.

From the first sketches to the birth of a painter

Long before Water Lilies or Impression, Sunrise , the young Oscar-Claude Monet honed his skills in Le Havre, where his family settled when he was only five years old. The exhibition retraces this formative period through his sketchbooks, shown to the public for the first time. We discover a 15-year-old boy meticulously observing the Norman landscapes, boats, and trees, but also a talented caricaturist humorously sketching the city's inhabitants.

The encounter with Eugène Boudin marked a decisive turning point. According to Monet's biographer, Thiébault-Sisson, the painter would later acknowledge: "If I became a painter, it is to Eugène Boudin that I owe it." Introduced to plein air painting, Monet created View at Rouelles in 1858 , considered his first painting. Exceptionally loaned by a Japanese museum, this canvas is exhibited alongside a work painted in the same location by Boudin, allowing us to appreciate the beginnings of the style that would make Monet famous.

A dive into Monet's Le Havre world

The exhibition brings together around one hundred works retracing the three decades Monet spent in Normandy, where his vision was shaped by the ever-changing light of the estuary and the seascapes. Several masterpieces, including Water Lilies , The Houses of Parliament , and The Cliffs of Varengeville , also recall the enduring connection the artist maintained with the town, to which he donated several canvases in 1910.

The exhibition concludes with a unique dialogue between Monet and contemporary art through Ai Weiwei's immense Water Lilies installations . Created with nearly 650,000 Lego bricks, these murals pay homage to the famous Water Lilies while offering a contemporary reinterpretation of the Impressionist master's work. This demonstrates that, a century after his death, Monet's legacy continues to inspire artists worldwide.