Monet at the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo

The National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo holds one of Asia’s most important collections of French Impressionism, and Claude Monet is at its heart. The museum exists specifically because of Monet’s generation, and its founding story is one of the more remarkable in twentieth-century museum history.

Founded to receive a returned collection

The museum opened in Ueno Park in 1959 to house the Matsukata Collection, assembled in Europe by the shipping industrialist Kojiro Matsukata in the years around the First World War. Part of that collection had remained in France and was seized by the French state during the Second World War; its return to Japan was agreed on the condition that a suitable museum be built. The building was designed by Le Corbusier, his only work in Japan, and it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2016 as part of his architectural legacy. The museum is therefore a landmark twice over, for the paintings inside and for the building around them.

Matsukata bought some of his Monets directly from the artist at Giverny in 1921, which gives the collection a rare closeness to its source. The paintings include water lily and Thames subjects from Monet’s later years, and they are shown in Le Corbusier’s spiralling, top-lit galleries. Every painting listed below can be commissioned as a hand-painted oil reproduction.

16 Monet works from The National Museum of Western Art

Charing-Cross Bridge in London

1902

Two small figures walk along a wind-swept beach beneath a sky of swirling white and lavender brushstrokes.

Heavy Sea at Pourville

1897

Morning on the Seine

1898

A hazy view of hills and a wooded slope beneath a pale sky, seen past a dark foreground, in soft blended strokes.

On the Boat

1887

Red, pink and white peonies against dark green foliage, with a dark tree trunk crossing the scene.

Peony Garden

1887

Close view of golden-yellow blossoms against a pale sky, with an orange tree trunk and reddish poles below.

Poplars in the Sun

1891

Three slender poplar trunks rise against a blue sky with white clouds, above green riverbank reflections.

Poplars in the Sun

1891

A hazy view of trees and a path in autumn colors of gold, blue and rust, loosely brushed.

Road of La Roche-Guyon

1880

Dark evergreens frame a pale, sunlit sky and distant water, painted in soft, blended strokes.

The Road to Saint-Siméon Farm

1864

Pink and orange buildings with steep roofs beside a green tree, under a streaked, hazy sky in soft pastel tones.

Vétheuil

1902

Vétheuil

1902

Oil painting of a shaded dirt path cutting through a tall avenue of dark green trees, opening onto a pale blue-grey sky in the distance; patches of golden sunlight fall across the road, a low stone wall lines the left edge, and a small cottage roof is visible where the path meets the horizon.

Walk

1864

Pink, red and yellow water lily blossoms rest among green pads on deep blue water, painted in thick textured dabs.

Water Lilies

1916

Oil painting of a lily pond seen from above, its blue-green water streaked with vertical reflections. Clusters of round lily pads float across the surface in cool greens and blues, punctuated by water lily blooms in white, soft pink, yellow, and deep red, rendered with loose, visible brushstrokes rather than sharp outlines.

Water Lilies

1916

Waterloo Bridge in London

1902

Yellow iris blooms rise amid dark green foliage under a blue sky, painted with loose, energetic brushwork.

Yellow Irises

1914

These paintings sit at the atmospheric end of Monet's work: water, fog, reflected light and very little hard edge. They suit calm, uncluttered interiors and are especially good in rooms that use natural materials and a limited palette, where a busier picture would feel like an intrusion. Because there is no strong focal point, they can be hung a little higher than a figurative painting without losing coherence. One generously sized canvas above a low piece of furniture is the classic solution. When you have found yours, check the available formats.

Official collection: The National Museum of Western Art