Monet is Back in Monaco!

Grimaldi Forum exhibits 100 of Claude Monet's Masterpieces

Barry Frangipane

Aug 8, 2023

One hundred forty years ago Claude Monet, the father of Impressionism, visited the Riviera. He loved the bright sun and the golden reflections he found at Bordighera (near our home), Dolceacqua, Antibes, and Monaco. Monet continued to paint our glorious coastline from 1883 through 1888.

“What I bring back from here will be sweetness itself, white, pink, and blue, all enveloped in this magical air.”

Now through September 3, 2023 the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco has brought Monet back to Monte Carlo in an exhibition entitled Monet en Pleine Lumière with nearly 100 works of the master. With Monaco being less than an hour away from our home in Italy, I visited the Forum and took in the show. What a great surprise it was!

Dolceacqua bridge, “…a jewel of lightness”

Bordighera: “How beautiful it is here, to be sure, but how difficult to paint! I can see what I want to do quite clearly but I’m not there yet. It’s so clear and pure in its pinks and blues that the slightest misjudged stroke looks like a smear of dirt.”

More than 20 canvasses are dedicated to the French and Italian Riviera. Thanks to the collaboration of Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris and many private collections, the Grimaldi Forum is also displaying some of Monet’s most popular subjects such as Les Nympheas (Giverny), and The Grand Canal (Venice). Some of his masterpieces loaned from private collections are rarely exhibited to the public.

In August, many French and Italians head to the Riviera for a bit of relaxation. If you are one of them, or if you just need a reason to go to Monte Carlo, visit the Grimaldi Forum and the Monet Exhibit.

Be sure to stop down the street at the Café de Paris adjoining the Casino for a cafè creme and pain au chocolate or two (as I did) to prepare yourself for the five-minute walk to the forum.

What is your favorite painting by Claude Monet? Send me a comment and let me know. For more information on the exhibit, Click Here.

Interested in Cafe de Paris Monte Carlo before or after the exhibit? Click Here