David Hockney. A Year in Normandy

As a contemporary counterpoint to Monet’s Nymphéas (Water Lilies), the Musée de l’Orangerie presents the collection of work produced by famed British painter David Hockney during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Having moved to Normandy’s Pays d’Auge in 2019, his house and garden there, as well as the surrounding countryside, became his favourite subjects, painted on his iPad. While the world stood still, Hockney took just a few weeks to execute over 100 images. Digital technology allowed him to put down rapidly and precisely what he wished to depict. Following the Impressionists’ way of working, he has captured the effects of light and ever-shifting weather, employing a vivid, luminous palette, the compositions’ swathes of flat colour juxtaposed with pop art splashes of vibrancy.