Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe avec Trois Femmes Noires avec Monet
2022 Mickalene Thomas
© Entrée to Black Paris

I had been forewarned that the exhibition entitled Mickalene Thomas : Avec Monet (Mickalene Thomas: with Monet) at the Musée de l'Orangerie might be disappointing.

Not because of the quality of the artist's work ...

... but rather, because of the small number of works displayed.

So when I went to the museum last Sunday, I was prepared.

Mickalene Thomas exhibition signage
© Entrée to Black Paris

Three of exhibition's works are on display in the ground floor anteroom for Monet's Water Lilies.  This assures that they will be seen - they are not tucked away in an obscure corner of the museum.

A woman gazes at Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe: les trois femmes noires avec Monet
(Lunch on the Grass: Three Black Women with Monet)
2022 Mixed media on Dibond
© Entrée to Black Paris

A wall panel in French and English explains the significance of what the museum is calling Contemporary Counterpoint #9 to Monet's masterpieces.

Exhibition wall panel
© Entrée to Black Paris

These works are not small - Le jardin d'eau de Monet is 113.03 x 139.7 cm / 44.5 x 55 in, and the other works are comparable in size.  Each is displayed on a separate wall, so it can receive the attention it deserves.

A group admires Le jardin d'eau de Monet (Monet's Water Garden)
2022 Mixed media on Dibond
© Entrée to Black Paris

Salle à manger et sofa avec Monet
(Dining room and sofa with Monet)
Mickalene Thomas
2022 Mixed media on Dibond
Photo © Entrée to Black Paris

The entrance to the elliptical rooms that house the Water Lilies is to the left of Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe avec Trois Femmes Noires (Lunch on the Grass: Three Black Women with Monet), so one could easily go directly from contemplating Thomas' strident, rhinestone-studded works into the chapel-like environment of the murals.

Instead, I chose to go downstairs to see the fourth piece of art that comprises Thomas' exhibition.

As I descended the stairs, I was shocked to see an enormous work by Thomas called La maison de Monet (Monet's House).

Occupying almost the entire wall opposite the stairway, it is impossible to ignore.

La maison de Monet (Monet's House)
2022 Mixed media on Dibond
© Entrée to Black Paris

La maison de Monet (Monet's House) - details
2022 Mixed media on Dibond
© Entrée to Black Paris

Just to the right of the staircase is a room in which Thomas' fifth work - a video installation called Me as Muse (2016) - is installed.  I didn't know about this element of the exhibition before I arrived, so I was intrigued to find out what it was all about.

Entrance to Me as Muse
 © Entrée to Black Paris

The walls of the room, which are decorated in a collage of garden scenes, and artificial flowers and lawn at floor level evoke Monet's garden at Giverny.  The four-minute video is displayed on a grouping of 12 screens, making the presentation resemble a collage as well.

Room where Me as Muse is being shown
© Entrée to Black Paris

The visuals consist of abstract patterns, views of classical paintings of reclining odalisques, and a nude Mickalene Thomas posing in the manner of an odalisque.  The images appear and disappear in seemingly random fashion, with the viewer being able to appreciate a "complete" image on all 12 screens only briefly, before they dissolve into randomness again.

Me as Muse - Random patterns
© Entrée to Black Paris

Me as Muse - Nude Mickalene Thomas
© Entrée to Black Paris

The audio for the installation is a powerful excerpt from a television interview that Eartha Kitt gave on the Terry Wogan Show on November 15, 1989.  You can obtain the transcript for the audio from the museum by scanning the QR code at the entrance of the video room.

The Orangerie is a relatively small museum, so it is easy to casually observe everything that is on permanent display in two to three hours. This includes paintings by Picasso, Modigliani, Renoir, Cézanne, Laurencin, and Derain, as well as African sculptures from the private collection of Paul Guillaume.

If you plan to visit the museum to see Mickalene Thomas: Avec Monet, plan for an additional 30 - 60 minutes to see her works as well.

The gift shop is offering a book that provides a comprehensive look at Thomas' work, so you'll want to at least glance at this as you make your way between floors.

Mickalene Thomas - book display
© Entrée to Black Paris

I did so before returning to the ground floor to look at Thomas' three works again.  I then viewed the Water Lilies murals before leaving the museum.

Mickalene Thomas : Avec Monet will be showing at the Orangerie through February 6, 2023.

Full price tickets (12.50€) provide access to this exhibition as well as the permanent collection.

In my opinion, it's worth your time to go!

Mickalene Thomas : Avec Monet
Musée de l'Orangerie
Jardin des Tuileries
Place de la Concorde (côté Seine)
75001 Paris
Hours: Wednesday through Monday 9 AM - 6 PM
Closed Tuesdays