The Moderna Musset in Stockholm Displays Later Paintings by Turner, Monet & Twombly

Written by Sven-Goran Ivanisevic Sunday, 16 October 2011 23:26

Stockholm.- The Modern Museet is proud to present "Turner, Monet, Twombly: Later Paintings" on view at the museum from October 8th through January 15th 2012. J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851), Claude Monet (1840-1926) and Cy Twombly (1928-2011) are three of the greatest painters of the last 150 years. This groundbreaking exhibition focuses on their later work, examining not only the art historical links and affinities between them but also the common characteristics of and motivations underlying their late style. All three artists were considered radical in their time and met with negative comment when pushing the boundaries of the conventions of painting. Their late work has a looseness and an intensity that comes from the confidence of age, when notions of finish and completion are modified.

J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851) was one of the most innovative painters of the Romantic era, whose works Monet admired on his stay in London in 1871 and challenged in his later depictions of London and Venice. Cy Twombly (1928-2011) also had a lifelong interest in Turner and in the last twenty years demonstrated a strong affinity for the work of Claude Monet (1840-1926) the founder of French Impressionism. The exhibition is an unique opportunity to see these three important artists together and to consider their common preoccupations. All three artists have been considered radical in their time and met with negative comment when pushing the boundaries of the conventions of painting. Their late work has a looseness and an intensity that comes from the confidence of age, when notions of finish and completion are modified. By presenting Twombly’s paintings alongside Monet’s and Turner’s we are not only asserting his importance among contemporary painters but suggesting that his work will resonate in the history of painting in the same way that Turner and Monet already do, says Jeremy Lewison, curator of the exhibition, formerly Director of Collections at Tate and now working as an independent curator. In addition to an outstanding group of late paintings by Turner on loan from Tate Britain, never seen before in Sweden, Moderna Museet is fortunate in obtaining key Turner and Monet loans from many major international collections including, among others, Musée d’Orsay, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, New York, National Museum of Wales, Kunsthaus Zürich, Yale Center for British Art, Beyeler Foundation, Von der Heydt Museum, Museum Folkwang and National Gallery Washington D.C. among others. In addition there has never been a major Twombly show in Sweden and the many works coming from private collections will be shown here for the first time.


"Turner, Monet, Twombly: Later Paintings" will examine each artist in some depth, and will introduce their work in new ways both to new audiences and to those already familiar with the artists’ work. The exhibition will feature more than 60 paintings, and will consider not only the art historical links and affinities between the painters, but also the common characteristics of and motivations underlying their late style. It highlights modernity and classicism in the work of all three artists, characteristics that will emerge by their unique juxtaposition in this exhibition. In their later phases the three artists are not only preoccupied by mortality and memory but retain an interest in the Romantic outlook and the sublime. While it proposes the modernity of Turner and Monet it also demonstrates the strong lure of classicism in the painting and sculpture of Twombly. A continuing interest in romanticism and the sublime, which far from ceasing in the mid-nineteenth century prevails today, are among the sub-themes of this show.

A review of earlier preoccupations and a strong sense of mortality are also common characteristics of this period of life. By judicious juxtaposition the exhibition will not only illuminate the practice of each artist but will be informative about late creativity. It is not simply the combination of Turner, Monet and Twombly that is groundbreaking. This will be an exhibition that examines each artist in some depth, and will introduce their work to new audiences in new ways. The exhibition is organised by Moderna Museet in collaboration with Staatsgalerie Stuttgart and Tate Liverpool.


Moderna Museet has one of the world’s finest collections of 20th and 21st century art. The photography collection contains works produced since 1840. Moderna Museet is commissioned to collect, preserve, exhibit and organise learning activities relating to all forms of 20th and 21st century art. Moderna Museet in Stockholm originally opened on 9 May, 1958, in what used to be a drill hall on Skeppsholmen. The Spanish architect Rafael Moneo designed the new building for Moderna Museet, after winning an international competition for the assignment. The new building was inaugurated, according to plan, in connection with Stockholm Cultural Capital in 1998. The event took place on 12 February, 1998. Moderna Museet Malmö opened on 26 December, 2009. The museum's aims are to promote artistic and cultural regeneration, promote knowledge in art history and understanding and interest in contemporary art, preserve, catalogue and research the Moderna Museet collection and procure new works to enhance it, make the collection accessible to the public, organise exhibitions and learning activities, and operate lending and deposition activities, research other government-owned or government-funded art collections and promote international contacts by organising exhibitions of Swedish contemporary art abroad, and be responsible for Swedish participation in international art biennials. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.modernamuseet.se

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