In 1887, American Impressionist Theodore Robinson moved from the hustle and bustle of Paris to the peace and quiet of Giverny, a village along the Seine in Normandy. Twelve years later, American art collector Etta Cone purchased five of Robinson's paintings at an estate sale. Those paintings are now part of the Baltimore Museum of Art's Cone Collection. Joining them until the beginning of January are nearly sixty drawings and paintings done by Robinson in Giverny from the spring of 1887 to the winter of 1892. "In Monet's Light: Theodore Robinson at Giverny" explores Robinson's relationship not only with his surroundings but also with his close friend Claude Monet, a fellow resident of Giverny.
A series of small rooms house the exhibit. Big landscapes and small portraits hang on walls of warm white and cool cobalt. Although the exhibit moves awkwardly from room to room, curator Sona Johnson's smart groupings keep it coherent. Her thoughtful notes, filled with sharp observations and peppered with quotes by Robinson himself, add to the visitors' experience.
"French Farmhouse" (1887) is the first in a series of drawings and paintings that focus on the village and its surroundings. It also sets the tone for the rest of the exhibition. Elements normally associated with Impressionism - natural light, loose brushstrokes, pure color - find a complimentary rather than contradictory frame in Robinson's precise sense of space. Gently rolling hills awash in a blur of sunlight sit side by side with stark fields thrown into harsh relief by shafts of moonlight.
A scattering of portraits signals a change in the focus of the exhibition. Over the course of his six-year stay in Giverny, Robinson used a number of townspeople as subjects, capturing them in the midst of their daily routines. "Gossips" (1891) depicts a group of women on the banks of the Seine, chatting as they do their washing. Once again, Robinson renders the scene with delicate dapples of color, but a surprising vibrancy shimmers beneath its softness. "The Wedding March" (1892) depicts the marriage of Monet's stepdaughter Suzanne to the American painter Theodore Parker. Robinson paints with bright colors and a loose hand that give the painting a sense of open movement, apparent in the masterful transition from a precise background to a blurred foreground.
The exhibit moves from a general collection of portraits done in Giverny to a small set that all feature a dark-haired, rosy-cheeked young woman named Marie, believed to be Robinson's favorite model. He paints her in profile, casting fine, clear light onto her equally fine, clear features as she engages in the lifestyle of a gently reared countrywoman. A number of the drawings and paintings in this series are especially striking. In "La Debacle" (1892), Robinson contrasts the relaxed beauty of her surroundings with the highly charged subject matter of the titular Zola novel in her hand. "At the Piano" (1887) and "Girl at the Piano" (1887) depict the same scene in two very different ways. The former is a study in pure light while the latter shows Marie at a piano through a veil of deep, rich shadows.
Monet features as a strong but subtle presence in the exhibition. His influence on Robinson is evident, particularly in a series entitled "Pairs, Sequences, and Series." As Johnson notes, "As Robinson's friendship with Monet developed, he became intrigued with Monet's idea of producing paired compositions that captured the effects of seasons or atmospheric changes in the landscape."
Three Seine Valley landscapes that depict the same view in different amounts of light showcase Robinson's keen eye for light and color as a means to change the dimensions of space. Their broad sweep and all-encompassing detail capture the best of both his own style and his relationship with the French Impressionist.
About half a dozen paintings by Monet hang amidst Robinson's drawings and paintings. Robinson's own words on the breadth and depth of his friend's style precede paintings in which Monet renders nature and man alike with free, easy strokes and rich, piercing daubs of color whose aesthetic appeal belie a sense of strength and power. They are glorious in their own right but enhance rather than overshadow the drawings and paintings of Robinson, a commendable accomplishment. Despite the fame of the Frenchman, his friendship with his American counterpart was not one of a mentor/protege but rather one of equals who learned from each other. "In Monet's Light" not only illustrates this idea but also showcases Robinson as a great artist in his own right.
"In Monet's Light" will be at the Baltimore Museum of Art until Jan. 9, 2005. Tickets (which include an Acoustiguide Audio Tour and general museum admission) are $12 for adults and $10 for students. The Baltimore Museum of Art is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wed. to Fri., and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sat. and Sun.
