Alexander Penn is a former curatorial research assistant in the department of painting and sculpture at the Denver Art Museum. In fact, as I recently trekked through snow and slush to the museum offices, I began to wonder how Claude Monet dealt with his own winter blues. Monet had been to Bordighera one time before he returned during the winter of to paint. He first traveled there in late , on a "tourist trip" with fellow painter Auguste Renoir.
While he did not create any artworks on this first visit, upon his return home to Giverny, he wrote to his friend and dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, about his trip and plans for immediate return—his time alone, and specifically without Renoir:.
I want to spend a month in Bordighera, one of the most beautiful places we saw on our trip. From there I have great hopes of bringing you a whole new series of paintings.
But I would ask you not to mention this trip to anyone , not because I want to make a secret of it, but because I insist upon doing it alone. Initially, Monet intended to return to Bordighera for only three weeks, but he ended up staying there for three months instead. The bright blue skies and lush, sun-covered gardens depicted in these canvases provide comfort to anyone wishing to escape the winter cold. In January , Monet would return to the Mediterranean, staying in the coastal town of Antibes until May of that same year.
During his four-month stay, Monet painted many canvases of the location and its historic surroundings. The Fort of Antibes is one such painting, which will be included in the upcoming exhibition. It is one of my personal favorites. I love how the horizontal brushstrokes of the turquoise sea contrast with those of Alps, whose snow-capped peaks reflect the warm pastels of a setting or rising sun. By Alexander Penn. March 1, Bordighera Monet had been to Bordighera one time before he returned during the winter of to paint.
