Water Lilies by Claude Monet is a pillar in the history of Western art. This harmonious view of the pond and the Japanese bridge at Giverny occupied the painter for three decades, the last of his life.
In 1883, Monet moved to Giverny with his partner, Alice Hoschedé, and their eight children. He rented a large house with an orchard and a vegetable garden, where he devoted himself to his two great passions, painting and botany. He created his idyllic garden with small streams, a pond surrounded by weeping willows welcoming water lilies, a wide variety of flowers and the famous bridge, arguably his most iconic motif.
Ever prescient as a voice of protest and social dissent, here Banksy shines a light on society’s disregard for the environment in favour of the wasteful excesses of consumerism.
In 2005, British urban artist Banksy presented Show Me The Monet, an irreverent and provocative reinterpretation of the Impressionist masterpiece. "In one of his most important paintings, Banksy has taken Monet’s iconic depiction of the Japanese bridge in the Impressionist master’s famous garden at Giverny and transformed it into a modern-day fly-tipping spot," said Alex Branczik, European Director of Contemporary Art at Sotheby's. "More canal than idyllic lily pond, Banksy litters Monet’s composition with discarded shopping trollies and a fluorescent orange traffic cone. Ever prescient as a voice of protest and social dissent, here Banksy shines a light on society’s disregard for the environment in favour of the wasteful excesses of consumerism."
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Show Me The Monet was first presented 15 years ago at Banksy's second exhibition, held in an abandoned space in Notting Hill, west London. Entitled Crude Oils: A Gallery of Re-mixed Masterpieces, Vandalism and Vermin, the free exhibition included 22 paintings by the artist.
Open to the public for two weeks, the exhibition drew a crowd of visitors and media attention. Before entering, visitors were required to sign a form agreeing to share the space with 164 rats, which Banksy had specially 'rented' through a film and theatre company. The premises were temporarily invaded by nearly two hundred rodents, which were an integral part of the exhibition and "completed its work".
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The work Show Me The Monet comes from the Crude Oils series, which revisits famous works of art with a critical aim, like Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers withered in their vase, Edward Hopper's Nighthawks characters disturbed by a man in boxer shorts smashing the bar window with a chair, and Andy Warhol's Marilyn as the face of model Kate Moss. The first 'public exhibition' of a work in this series dates back to 2003, when the artist secretly hung Crimewatch UK Ruined the Countryside for All of Us in a room at Tate Britain. The small oil painting, a countryside landscape dotted with blue and white police tape, was removed after a few hours by a museum employee.
With the sales of Love is in the Bin and Devolved Parliament from October 2018 and October 2019 respectively, another record could be set for Banksy in 2020.
The work will be offered at Sotheby's in London on 21 October on the occasion of the third 'Modernités/Contemporary' edition, an event sale bringing together the greatest modern and contemporary artists, broadcast simultaneously in Paris and London. The estimate is £3-5 million. It remains to be seen whether the interest of collectors will be substantial enough to dethrone Devolved Parliament, which was auctioned for more than $12 million, the artist's current record at auction.
"From Love is in the Bin, to the record-breaking Devolved Parliament, to this take on Monet, October just wouldn’t be complete without a big Banksy moment," Branczik concluded.
