Agapanthus triptych or Water Lilies is one of the greatest breakups of the century. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art greatly benefited from the split. In case you don’t know the history, Claude Monet, painted the three Water Lilies panels for eleven years. He was inspired by his pond in his Giverny garden. The three panels were 14 foot-long totaling 42 feet. The Nelson purchased the right end of the triptych in 1957 for $40,000. The Kansas City Star listed the value of the Nelson painting in millions. The St. Louis Art Museum and the Cleveland Museum of Art own the other two panels. The triptych was last seen in Kansas City in 1979. Water Lilies are the special exhibition at the Nelson. The exhibition opens to general admissions on Saturday, April 9, 2011.
The history of the paintings is quite distinguished. Claude Monet (1840-1926) purchased land in Giverny France in 1890 after renting the house for several years. Workers were to dig a shallow pond and divert water from the River Epte. The project included weeping willows, iris, bamboo, roses, water lilies, and a Japanese footbridge. At one point, six or seven gardeners were working the garden. The first painting of the bridge was recorded as early as 1892. After 1917, Monet used larger canvases for his painting of his water gardens. He used fourteen foot canvases primarily in 1919-1920 and in diptychs and triptychs. Agapanthus triptych was created.
Camille Doncieux appeared in numerous Monet paintings. Camille gave birth to a son, Jean in 1867. The couple was married June 28, 1870. Camille became ill in 1876. In 1878 she gave birth to a second son, Michael. She died of tuberculosis in 1879 at the age of thirty-two. In 1878 the couple moved in with Ernest Hoschede. After Ernest became bankrupt, he left for Belgium. His wife and six children remained behind. Alice Hoschede assisted Monet to raise his two sons. They married in 1892 after the death of her husband. Alice died in 1911 and Monet’s son, Jean, died in 1914. Alice’s oldest child, Blanche and Jean’s wife became his caregiver, after Alice’s death.
This was around the time Monet’s cataracts developed. Monet was blind just prior to his first cataract surgery. His cataract surgery was 1923. Can you image having surgery before penicillin was invented? After his second cataract surgery, Claude noticed his prior paintings were more reddish. He was able to see ultraviolet wavelengths that are normally excluded by the eye. He repainted several of his painting to include more blues. Monet continued to paint on the Water Lilies until his death in 1926. His son, Michael sold the paintings. The next owner split them. The rest is history.
The NAMA has the paintings in a single frame. Three contemporary sofas are available to sit on to enjoy the paintings. The Nelson has a visitor friendly area to examine the Monet’s Water Lilies x-radiographs. Both the Nelson’s and Cleveland‘s Water Lilies are x-rayed. The radiographs show numerous composition changes. Visitors may create their own “Water Lilies” on the touch screen painter on computers. For more information contact The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art at 816-751-1278.
This article is unusual for my ethics post.However, water lilies are unbelievable.
Monet wanted his viewer to experience calmness. Calmness is essential for ethics.
