The Orsay and Orangerie museums in Paris are currently hosting a series of exhibitions that focus on the life and work of the French painter **Claude Monet** (1840–1926). These exhibitions aim to explore Monet's creative process and his lasting influence on modern art. At the Orangerie Museum, an exhibition titled Monet. Painting Time features around forty of Monet’s most famous works, ranging from his early Impressionist paintings to his later, more abstract Nymphéas series. This exhibition marks the final major event in a centenary celebration of Monet’s life and work, highlighting how he sought to capture the fleeting nature of time through his use of light, seasons, and natural elements. Curators Annick Lemoine and Claire Bernardi emphasize that the exhibition showcases Monet’s quest to depict what is "impossible" to hold—moments that pass with the changing of the seasons and the passing of minutes. The exhibition includes several of Monet’s iconic painting series, such as the Poplars, the Cathedral of Rouen, and the Meules, which all depict the same subject at different times and in different seasons. One highlight is a circular display of six paintings of hay stacks from various collections, arranged to resemble the shape of a clock, symbolizing the cycle of time and the seasons. In Giverny, where Monet lived, his pond became an open-air studio where he painted the Nymphéas series. These works capture the changing light and vegetation over time. In his later years, Monet’s vision was affected by cataracts, leading to a more blurred style and a sense of elongation toward infinity in his paintings. At the Orsay Museum, an exclusive exhibition dedicated to Monet offers new insights into his painting techniques. This includes the restoration and analysis of five of his recently restored works by the French Museums Research and Restoration Center (C2RMF). Using techniques like radiography and infrared reflectography, researchers have uncovered changes Monet made to his paintings. For example, figures were removed from The Lunch (around 1873) and Women in the Garden (around 1866), and a strip of canvas was added to The Cathedral of Rouen, The Portal Viewed Frontally (1892) to adjust the composition. In the famous The Magpie (1868–1869), it was discovered that the black and white bird was added at the last moment, replacing a house on the horizon. Conservator Anne Robbins noted that these findings challenge the common view of Monet as a completely spontaneous painter, revealing a more thoughtful and reflective process. The Orangerie Museum also features a virtual reality experience that explores Monet's relationship with water, as well as family archives from the collection of Philippe Piguet, great-grandson of Alice Hoschedé, Monet’s second wife. The museum also displays a triptych in homage to Monet by Zao Wou-Ki and a contemporary counterpart by American artist Vija Celmins. The exhibitions are open from 30 September 2026 to 25 January 2027, with specific dates for different sections. A book titled To read Monet, a life in painting has also been published, collecting the entirety of the Orsay and Orangerie museums’ collections of Monet’s works.