Claude Monet · Je passe ma vie à peindre

To mark the centenary of Claude Monet's death, the Musée d’Orsay offers a tour through its Impressionist galleries. As you move through the rooms, the visit stops at five paintings that have been the subject of recent research or restorations. The restorers' discoveries and a few of the painter's letters illuminate how he worked, from his early days to the turn of the century.

In La Pie, a bird perched on a fence barely stands out against a snowy field. Monet painted near Étretat during the winter of 1868–1869. He plays with bluish shadows to render the light on the snow perceptible. This approach, which gives the painting its clarity, puzzled the Salon jury, which refused the canvas.

The tour also shows what painting outdoors entails when the canvas changes scale. The two fragments of Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe reveal the measure of Monet's ambition as a young painter: to treat a forest picnic in the scale of history painting. A few years later, in Le Déjeuner, a hat hanging from a branch and a parasol resting on a bench suffice to evoke the guests who have just left the table.

From the snowy landscape to the family meal, these connections highlight the choices behind each painting: where to set up, what role to give the figures, and, once the painting is finished, how the decision to varnish changes it.

Practical information
- Thursday evenings until 9:45 pm.
- Closed on Mondays and on December 25.
- Free admission on December 5 and 6 for its anniversary, with opening until 8:00 pm on Saturday the 5th.