iMusée de l'Orangerie · Tuileries
Monet, Painting Time
Marking the centenary of Monet's death, this exhibition traces how his painting engaged with time — from the Cathedrals, Haystacks and Poplars series of the 1890s through to the Water Lilies — drawing largely on the Musée d'Orsay and Musée Marmottan Monet collections.
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When Monet showed his Rouen Cathedral paintings in 1895, Georges Clemenceau called it "a revolution without a single shot". The subject was one church façade, painted again and again as the light moved across it.
Nearly forty paintings, mostly from the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée Marmottan Monet, with further loans, follow that idea in three stages: early plein-air landscapes, the 1890s series (Haystacks, Poplars on the Epte, Rouen Cathedral, Mornings on the Seine), then the Water Lilies in the museum's own oval rooms. A 20-minute VR film, Monet, Along the Water, traces his work from Argenteuil to Giverny. Monet repainting one haystack at different hours is the original camera roll of twelve near-identical sunsets over the Tuileries.
No published review was found yet, so this guide doesn't judge. Tickets are €12.50, or €10 reduced, and a time slot booked online is recommended. On Fridays the museum stays open until 9pm, with a €10 ticket. It's closed Tuesdays, and the show moves to Tate Modern in February 2027.
Editor's pick
Monet's Cathedrals, Haystacks and Poplars, the same motif painted at different hours, through to the Water Lilies: a camera roll of the same sunset, with better reasons. Mostly lent by the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée Marmottan Monet.
Look for
The Rouen Cathedral series
The same west façade painted in different light, including Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Sunlight (1894).
The Haystacks
One subject returned to between 1888 and 1891, with the season and light changing from canvas to canvas.
Poplars on the Epte
Monet's 1891 to 1892 series of a single row of trees, again under shifting light.
The Water Lilies rooms
The eight panels in the museum's two oval rooms close the show.
Good for
- Evening Visits
- First-Timers
With kids
Free for under-18s. A 20-minute VR film, in French or English, is part of the visit.
Also at Musée de l'Orangerie
On now nearby
Nearby
Image credits
8
- Monet, Painting TimeNational Gallery of Art / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
- Stan Douglas: Parallax© Stan Douglas. Courtesy of the artist, Victoria Miro and David Zwirner
- Marie and Félix Bracquemond, Decorative Arts DrawingsMarie Bracquemond, Les muses des arts, sans date. Musée d'Orsay, Don Armel et Nicolas Jundt, 2024. © Musée d’Orsay, dist. GrandPalaisRmn
- Musée de l'OrangerieHomonihilis / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Jeu de PaumeGuilhem Vellut, CC BY 2.0
- Musée d'OrsaySuicasmo, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Grand PalaisȘtefan Jurcă / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
- Musée de l'Armée (Les Invalides)xiquinhosilva from Cacau / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0