Looking at Monet: The Great Impressionist and His Influence on Austrian Art

The Viennese art scene of the late-nineteenth and early twentieth century counted French impressionism among its chief influences. Widely regarded as the movement’s formative figure, Monet’s works appeared in all the major galleries of the day, including the Künstlerhaus Wien, the Secession Building, and the legendary Galerie Miethke, earning him distinction as the most influential of the French impressionists, along with Édouard Manet.

For Looking at Monet, Agnes Husslein-Arco and Stephan Koja of the Belvedere Gallery in Vienna have assembled works by Monet, presenting them alongside selected paintings and photographs by Austrian artists active throughout the same period who would have been familiar with Monet’s work. Among the artists whose work is included are Gustav Klimt, Emil Jakob Schindler, Oskar Kokoschka, Olga Wisinger-Florian, Heinrich Kühn, and Ludwig Heinrich Jungnickel.

Brilliantly colorful and filled with light, Monet’s paintings captivate modern audiences. Looking at Monet shows they were equally beloved by the artist’s contemporaries—many of whom were great masters in their own right.