13 May – 17 September 2023
The exhibition 'A Bath of Colours - Renoir and Monet at the Grenouillère' at the Oskar Reinhart Collection 'Am Römerholz' brings together two iconic works of Early Impressionism for the first time.
Two young painters – Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet – spent the summer of 1869 side by side, just outside Paris. They were both highly ambitious and sought to produce tableau paintings that depicted scenes from real life. A lack of recognition and success in the institutions and at the annual salon meant they were both experiencing financial hardship. Yet, they wanted to conquer the art market and capture the true essence of a scene in their works.
They found these real-life scenes in their frequent visits to a local bathing resort called La Grenouillère on the Île de Croissy on a branch of the Seine. The two artists shared a vision: a vibrant summer landscape, filled with life and chance encounters, and a painting dedicated to capturing the moment and the changing light, and reflecting the to-ing and fro-ing of the raucous summer visitors, and the glistening of the water stirred up by the breeze and the rocking boats. Nothing in this place – or in the paintings – was staged. The rapid, comma-like brushstrokes and dots alone convey the fleeting changes of light and atmosphere. The two artists produced a total of six pictures of this dreamlike summer scene which would revolutionise the course of European art history.
The pair of paintings – Renoir's Grenouillère from the Oskar Reinhart Collection 'Am Römerholz', which has been a guarded treasure and cornerstone of the collection since 1931, and its sister painting by Claude Monet from the National Gallery in London, which has been publicly-owned since 1979 and never loaned, can now be seen side by side for the first time. Monet's small individual study of two boats from the Kunsthalle Bremen completes the ensemble. The exhibition also features other exquisite loans depicting moving water, inspired by the Grenouillère paintings. Reproductions of other works painted at the Grenouillère, as well as historical documents, will stimulate further discussion, and are supplemented by contemporary recordings of the famous location.
A broad supporting programme will run during the exhibition period. Besides thematic curator tours, special tours of the exhibition, and concerts with readings looking at the musical tradition of the Grenouillère, there will also be painting and drawing workshops on the topic for adults and for children. Specially adapted events will be offered for those with a visual impairment and for migrants. One of the popular museum picnic baskets is also dedicated to the theme of the Grenouillère throughout the summer. And, to recreate some of that summery joie de vivre, visitors will be able to play pétanque under the Römerholz chestnut trees.
Opening: Friday, 12 May 2023, 6-8pm with brief introductions by the curators, Kerstin Richter and Katja Baumhoff. There will be fitting musical accompaniment from Jardena Flückiger and Barbara Schneebeli, followed by a drinks reception and buffet in the museum café.