Who does not want to visit Venice?

That would be renowned French artist Claude Monet until his wife convinced him to accept an all expenses paid trip.

It was 1908 and Monet’s three-month trip to the magical Italian city resulted in 37 remarkable paintings, more than half of which are now assembled for the New York show, which opened October 11th at the Brooklyn Museum.

Notable is that without the Venice series, Monet’s adoring public would never see some of the finest works he ever created, including the Water Lilies paintings.

Before presenting any art, there’s an introductory multisensory space that features video of gondolas and the Palazzo Ducale, along with lighting intended to resemble sunlight bouncing off canal water and a scent designed specifically for the show.

Other artists such as Sargent, Renoir, Signac and Canaletto’s Venice renderings are included in the exhibit along with select Monet water inspired paintings featuring paintings from Giverny, Normandy and London.

Highlighted are Monet’s paintings of the Palazzo Ducale as seen from the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, across the Grand Canal. The exhibit  features several of them grouped together at the end of the show, and though they appear similar, a closer look reveals that they are different due to meteorological shifts, exhibited by what Monet committed to canvas depended on how the weather altered the day’s sunlight.

Claude Monet once claimed that Venice was “too beautiful to be painted,” a challenge he embraced by creating an extraordinary sequence of works depicting the Italian city.

Monet and Venice is the first exhibition to focus on Monet’s luminous Venetian paintings, a radiant yet underexplored chapter in the artist’s late career.

Take the tour:

Monet And Venice Brooklyn Museum 200 Eastern Parkway Brooklyn New York. Timed tickets required. Exhibit on view through February 1st, 2026. Open Wednesday-Sunday 11am-6pm.