Visitors flock to Hong Kong Museum of Art for Claude Monet’s masterpieces

Visitors filled the Hong Kong Museum of Art on Friday for a garden art exhibition  featuring two original masterpieces by French Impressionist Claude Monet.

“Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West” features 106 artworks from the Art Institute of Chicago, Beijing’s Palace Museum and the Palace of Versailles in Paris, alongside pieces from the museum’s collection. 

Highlights include Monet's Water Lilies and Water Lily Pond from the Art Institute of Chicago.

Other masterpieces include Zhang Daqian's Entrance of Bade Garden and Splashed-colour Landscape, as well as Wen Zhengming’s Spring Ablution at the Orchid Pavilion and sculptures such as The Enceladus Fountain and The Water Theatre from the Palace of Versailles.

Despite rainy weather, crowds filled the galleries by midday, with long queues for popular works and interactive activities.

Vasilisa Popov, 28, from Russia, said she came to the exhibition after reading it online, drawn by Monet.

“I work in the culture sphere back home, so art is very special to me,” she said. “I’m actually flying back today, but I made sure to come here before leaving.”

Glenda Wilson, 70, from New Zealand, called it a trip highlight and “beautifully courageous, really well put together, and fantastic.”

She had visited the museum days earlier but returned for the show. “It’s the opening day and people love to see Monet,” she said of the crowds.

Helen Kwok, 74, a regular visitor at the HKMoA, had seen Monet’s works at a 2016 Monet exhibition in the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. 

“I’d like to see Monet, but also the other various garden paintings from Versailles.”

First-time visitors Few, 23, and Pakke, 26, from Thailand, celebrated Few’s university graduation here in Hong Kong. 

Though new to art, they said they enjoyed the exhibition, especially the French paintings of gardens.

Pakke added that they heard about the exhibition through social media.

The free exhibition runs from April 24 to July 29 at the Hong Kong Museum of Art.