Monet in Full Light: Grimaldi Forum exhibit to feature a never-before-seen piece

monet grimaldi forum

This summer’s big exhibition at the Grimaldi Forum will showcase Monet’s work like you’ve never seen it before.  

For even casual admirers of French impressionist Claude Monet, the Grimaldi Forum’s summer exhibit will be a can’t-miss event. Roughly 100 of his paintings gathered from all over the world in a 3,000-metre space is already a once in a lifetime experience, but add in the fact that one of the works will be on display for the first time ever, and it’s bound to be a sure-fire hit.  

Running from 8th July to 3rd September, the exhibit coincides with the 140th anniversary of Monet’s first visit to Monaco and the French Riviera, and will follow the path of his career and life during his years in the region.  

MASTERPIECES ON DISPLAY 

The collection will include several of his masterpieces that have rarely been show together at other retrospectives. They will be a displayed in an interesting way, blending timelines and themes; curator and art historian Marianne Mathieu is aiming to give visitors a clearer picture and deeper insight into Monet’s artistic path through his work.  

“Monet’s work is very coherent. From his youth in Le Havre to the last paintings in Giverny, the painter does not try to paint a motif, but rather a moment; Monet does not paint a landscape, but an atmosphere,” Matthieu said of the artist in Bon Vivant Magazine. “On the Riviera, between 1883 and 1888, this means maturity; Monet discovers himself as the painter of the series.” 

MONACO AND THE RIVIERA 

It was during his time on the Riviera with fellow impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir that he became obsessed with the now-famous light of the region. His old palette, better suited to the north where he lived, was thrown out the window in favour of the softer colours of his paintings of this period are known for.  

SOURCED FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD 

The paintings displayed will come from several sources, with nearly half being on loan from the Musée Marmottan Monet. Others will come from private collections, including that of the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, as well as major international institutions such as the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, the Museum Barberini in Potsdam, the Von der Heydt-Museum in Wuppertal and the Fondation Beyeler in Basel. 

Pre-sale tickets are only €7 if purchased before 30th June. The price thereafter is €14. For more information and to book, please click here

 

Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.  

 

Photo: Villas at Bordighera, 1884, Oil on canvas, 61×74 cm – Hasso Plattner Collection

Saint George’s Day dinner and celebrations in Monaco

saint george monaco

The British Association of Monaco is getting warmed up for the Coronation of King Charles with a patriotic evening commemorating Saint George later this month. 

The BAM is extending an invitation to members and non-members of the association alike to join in with celebrations of Saint George’s Day, Monaco-style, on Monday 24th April.  

The gourmet evening at Caffé Milano on Port Hercule will begin at 7.30pm and be punctuated with a delicious dinner before a quiz on Shakespeare – did you know that it’s his birthday the day before? – and saints.  

The event costs €75 for members and €80 for non-members.  

For more information, please click here

 

Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.   

 

Photo source: Caffé Milano / Facebook

Michael Schumacher’s Benetton to go on sale at this year’s Top Marques

Lamborghini Koenigsegg

A Benetton driven by Michael Schumacher during his first and second Grand Prix victories will go on sale at the 2023 Top Marques alongside a first-ever auction of exclusively Ferrari models.

Supercars as well as rare collectors pieces will be available to buy or rent during Top Marques 2023, which is taking place at the Grimaldi Forum between 7th and 11th June. The latest Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Porsche models will all be on display during the event, but the most exciting news about this year’s schedule is the inclusion, for the first ever time, of an auction.

It is being organised by Monaco Car Auctions for 8th June and will include exclusively Ferrari models.

Nods to the past and eyes to the future

The event will also welcome 60 sports cars from the 20th century, including a Benetton driven by Michael Schumacher during his first and second Grand Prix victories.

There will also be space at the event for some of the latest innovations in the automobile world. The MC One, an electric flying car, will be on display, as will the MH2, a hydrogen supercar.

Away from the tarmac, there will be a 100-metre all-electric submarine by U-Boat Worx while Venturi’s electric rover FLEX will also be on display ahead of its transportation to the Moon in 2026.

 

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Photo of Lamborghini Koenigsegg by Carage

Club Suisse de Monaco: “Can Switzerland remain neutral?”

club suisse de monaco

A geopolitical conundrum and a foundation of modern Swiss principles, the nation’s enduring neutrality is going under the lens at a special Club Suisse de Monaco dinner with humanitarian Alexandre Liebeskind in May. 

On Wednesday 17th May at 7pm in the Restaurant Horizon of the Fairmont Monte-Carlo, Swiss national Alexandre Liebeskind will be drawing on his own experiences in the world of peacemaking and diplomacy to take on the complicated subject of Switzerland’s neutrality, exploring “the threats, opportunities and realities around the confederation staying neutral”. 

“Originally imposed after Napoleon’s wars, Switzerland’s neutrality evolved as the country realised it had more to contribute to humanity by acting as an impartial intermediary than by joining wars,” writes the Club Suisse de Monaco on its website, “but the very notion of neutrality is challenged whenever global powers deem they are leading just wars… Now, with the war in Ukraine polarising world powers, neutrality is seen as veiled sympathy for Russia by NATO and its allies… As the conflict comes closer to home, neutrality is again being challenged within Switzerland itself. Some consider it cowardice. Others see it as vital – or contrary – to the nation’s interest.” 

As “there is no absolute truth in ethical dilemmas”, a question-and-answer session will complement Liebeskind’s discourse on the topic.  

Andreas Maager, the Consul General of Switzerland in Marseille, will be attending the event, which is open to members and non-members alike for €145, including a three-course meal.  

For further information, please click here

 

Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.   

 

Photos courtesy of Club Suisse de Monaco

The 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters in photos

The curtain fell on yet another enthralling Monte-Carlo Masters on Sunday, with Andrey Rublev the latest to carve his name into the marble winners board at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. 

Over the last week, stars from the world of tennis and beyond had descended on the 116th version of the event, billed as an “Ode to the Riviera”, as the clay-court season got underway in style in Roquebrune Cap Martin.

Here are some of the highlights of the week, both on and off the court:

 

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Photos by Luke Entwistle of Monaco Life

Architecture through the lens: a Massimo Listri exhibition

MASSIMO LISTRI

A new exhibition by photographer Massimo Listri and featuring a selection of “transcendental” photos that trace the artist’s long and storied career is being featured at the Moretti Fine Art Gallery.  

Italian photographer Massimo Listri has made a career out of photographing empty rooms. This may sound anti-climactic until one actually sees the rooms he has put to film. Grandiose, imposing spaces are his forte and include castles, abandoned houses, libraries, cathedrals and theatres, which he presents in all their isolated beauty.  

From 15th to 28th April, Moretti Fine Art has selected 15 of his most dramatic works to exhibit at the gallery on Avenue de la Costa in Monaco, each following his artistic journey and each as breath-taking in scope as the last.  

A STYLE THAT AROSE FROM PASSIONS 

Listri’s choice of subjects was born out a deep passion for interior design and antiques, along with his interest in art history.  

MASSIMO LISTRI
Massimo Listri, Palazzo Butera II, Palermo 2016, 120 x 150 cm ©PH. MASSIMO LISTRI

As Apostolos Mitsios, the self-confessed design addict and renowned psychologist, writes: ”What makes his work unique is how he has made interiors look so absolutely vivid, as if they had a secret life of their own that only he knows how to portray. Listri has the extraordinary ability to capture all the small details that make the difference, and reveal all the stories that remain hidden behind the surface. Listri’s photos transmit an almost deafening silence, as if time had stopped and humans had suddenly disappeared and the only thing reminiscent of them are the interiors they’ve left behind, the remains of their lives and their passions, their art and their culture.” 

For more information on how to see these incredible pieces in real life, please click here.

 

Do you have an event in Monaco or the French Riviera that you would like us to include in our What’s On section and events calendar? Please email editor@monacolife.net.  

 

Main photo: Massimo Listri, Musei Vaticani XX, Roma 2014, 120 x 150 cm ©PH. MASSIMO LISTRI