At the Luxembourg Museum, Léon, the other Monet

What if of the two he was the more modern?

The question is a bit provocative, but it points irresistibly to the exhibition that the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris is devoting to Léon Monet (1836-1917), Claude's little-known brother.

The patriarch of Impressionism found glory by merging with nature.

But what the outdoors inspired him, he painted with synthetic colors.

And these tubes of lanolin-based paste, it was Léon, the chemical manufacturer, who produced them.

This is not insignificant: in front of large photographs of factories, his color charts, large open albums, or these samples of fabrics, shimmering muslins or Indians are exhibited next to the painter's palette.

"At the end of the 19th century, 80% of the productions of the Impressionist movement were made with chemical paints"

, estimates curator Géraldine Lefebvre.

For three years, this art historian has been trying to clarify what Leon's art collection was.

Because this older brother of...

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