Complete Guide to the Pola Museum of Art in Hakone: Where Art Meets Nature

Monet’s Famous “Water Garden” in Giverny

One of the most beloved works at the museum is Claude Monet’s Water Lily Pond (1899).

Monet, a leading figure of Impressionism, spent his later years in Giverny, France, where he dedicated himself to capturing the beauty of his surroundings.

In 1893, he purchased land next to his home and created a “water garden” from scratch — complete with a Japanese-style arched bridge over a pond filled with water lilies. It became his lifelong source of inspiration and one of the most iconic subjects in his art.

A Brilliant Work from the “Japanese Bridge” Series

This painting is part of Monet’s first Japanese Bridge series, created around 1899–1900 — a period when he began painting water lilies in earnest.

Sunlight filters in from the back of the scene, gently reflecting off the pond’s surface and nearby trees. The subtle blue-gray foreground contrasts beautifully with the brighter background. The result is a glowing, vivid harmony of colors.

This piece clearly reflects how Monet saw and felt nature — quiet, yet emotionally powerful. His brushwork and color choices bring his serene garden vividly to life.

A Surprising Series from the Master of Landscapes

Another highlight in the Pola Museum’s collection is Monet’s Rouen Cathedral (1892). While Monet is famous for painting nature, this work features the grand Gothic architecture of Rouen Cathedral in Normandy, France.

Between 1892 and 1893, Monet painted more than 30 views of the cathedral from his temporary studio across the street. What fascinated him wasn’t the building itself, but the changing light — how shadows and colors shifted with the time of day and the weather.

Soft Gradients of Pink and Blue

The version housed at the Pola Museum is believed to depict the cathedral around 6 p.m., just before sunset. The top of the cathedral glows faintly pink, while the bottom half falls into a soft, bluish shadow from the neighboring buildings.

The gentle contrast in color makes the painting feel calm and peaceful.

Look closely and you’ll notice that the building’s outlines are a bit blurry, almost dreamlike. Monet wasn’t focused on perfectly capturing the structure — he wanted to paint the atmosphere and the quality of the light. Though his brushwork appears loose, it’s carefully calculated.

Instead of using bright, bold colors, Monet layered soft grays and muted tones to express the delicate and complex hues of natural light — that’s the true magic of this piece.

A Masterpiece from Renoir’s “Pearlescent Period”

Auguste Renoir was one of the leading artists of the French Impressionist movement, best known for his warm, gentle portraits of women and children.

But Renoir didn’t always paint in the same style. Throughout his career, he adapted his technique depending on the period and his personal feelings.

This piece, Girl with a Lace Hat, was painted during what is known as his “pearlescent period.” It features soft, light tones based on white, creating a dreamy quality where colors seem to melt into light.

Soft Outlines, Strong Presence

What immediately stands out in this painting is Renoir’s signature softness. The voluminous lace hat, the silky hair, the delicate skin — they all look so real you almost feel like you could reach out and touch them.

Renoir often used loose, blurry outlines, yet his subjects still feel vivid and full of life. That ability to convey presence through gentle, blended brushwork is a hallmark of his style.

A Natural and Graceful Moment

The girl’s pose is simple and natural. She slightly lifts her chin, gazing off into the distance. There’s nothing forced — it feels like a quiet moment captured in time.

Combined with Renoir’s tender brushstrokes, this painting has a calming presence that gently touches the viewer’s heart.

A Pointillist View of the Normandy Coast

Georges Seurat was a pioneer of Neo-Impressionism, known for developing pointillism — a technique that used small, precise dots of color based on scientific color theory.

This painting, Low Tide at Grandcamp (1885), was exhibited at the Second Salon des Indépendants alongside his most famous work, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

It depicts the quiet coast of Grandcamp, a harbor town in Normandy, France. Three boats sit calmly in a low-tide scene, all rendered using Seurat’s meticulous dot technique.

Simple Composition, Complex Balance

At first glance, this may seem like a peaceful and ordinary seascape. But the composition is carefully structured.

A horizontal line separates the sea from the sand, creating a sense of calm. One of the boats leans diagonally, adding a subtle tension that draws the eye deeper into the scene.

Two more boats in the background create a feeling of open space and rhythm. Though the layout is minimal, it has a strong visual impact.

Dots of Color, Not Blended — But Harmonized

Pointillism, Seurat’s signature method, involves placing tiny dots of color side by side rather than blending them.

In this work, the sandy beach appears orange and the sea blue — but if you look closely, you’ll notice tiny contrasting colors (complementary hues) scattered within. These combinations create a vivid, shimmering effect that feels both bright and deep.

Pay attention to the darker tones near the horizon. Instead of mixing pigments to create shadows, Seurat placed cool colors like blue and green next to each other, preserving brightness while still creating depth — a unique feature of pointillism.

Painting with Theory, Not Just Instinct

Seurat was heavily influenced by color theorists like Eugène Chevreul and Charles Blanc. He studied their writings and used scientific principles to build his own techniques.

Instead of focusing only on how to paint, Seurat asked why certain colors should be used together. His approach led to pointillism — placing colors side by side to let the viewer’s eye do the mixing.

This method combines logic and emotion, giving his works a quiet, poetic atmosphere.

Low Tide at Grandcamp isn’t flashy, but it leaves a lasting impression. When you see it in person, take time to enjoy how each tiny dot creates a sense of light, air, and harmony.

Van Gogh’s Southern Journey Begins

In 1888, Vincent van Gogh moved south to Arles, France, chasing warmer weather, brighter skies, and new inspiration.

In a letter to his brother Theo that March, he wrote:

“Today I brought back a size 15 canvas — a painting of a drawbridge with a small cart crossing it, its silhouette standing against the blue sky — with blue water below, an orange bank with green grass, and a group of washerwomen in colorful bonnets…”

This painting, The Gleize Bridge over the Vigueirat Canal, is one of the two works he mentioned (the other being the more famous Langlois Bridge).
At the time, Van Gogh was completely taken by the southern light and atmosphere — and it shows.

The First Spark of the Arles Period

Van Gogh came to Arles partly because he was fascinated by Japanese art.
He saw similarities between Japanese prints and the bright, bold nature of southern France — and he hoped to find a place that felt like a “European Japan.”

The Gleize Bridge is one of his early works from Arles, and you can already see his use of bold color coming alive.
The deep blues of sky and water, the vivid yellow of the banks, and scattered touches of bright red — even in the canal — show how he was experimenting with complementary color contrasts.

Before moving to Arles, Van Gogh mostly painted what he saw, in a fairly straightforward way.
But here, you can see him beginning to manipulate color for emotional impact, not just realism.

This piece marks the start of a new chapter — leading to masterpieces like Café Terrace at Night, The Night Café, and of course, Sunflowers.
It’s the first flicker of Van Gogh’s golden period, where his signature style fully blossomed.

Silence with a Sense of Presence

Have you ever heard of Vilhelm Hammershøi?
He was a Danish painter active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for his quiet, minimalist style. His paintings are calm and understated—but somehow, you can’t look away.

“Woman Reading in the Sunlight, Strandgade 30” (1889) is one of his most iconic works. It shows a woman quietly reading in a simple, sunlit room. The location? It’s actually a room in Hammershøi’s own apartment in Strandgade 30, Copenhagen.

A Quiet Space with Subtle Tension

At first glance, not much seems to be happening:
A woman sits alone, reading, her back turned to us. We can’t see her face. She seems still—almost frozen in time.

The room is almost empty: minimal furniture, muted gray walls and floors, and soft light coming in through the window. That’s it. And yet, this peaceful space feels full of quiet tension.

Notice the slightly ajar door in the corner.
It suggests that someone might walk in—or maybe no one will. That uncertain pause in the scene creates a subtle, lingering suspense. It feels like something could happen at any moment, even though nothing does.

Hammershøi doesn’t tell a story in the usual sense.
Instead, he lets the space itself speak. This isn’t just a portrait—it’s a mood, a feeling, an atmosphere. The power of the painting lies in what’s not shown, as much as what is.

A Painting Full of Imagination

This quiet interior invites you to imagine your own story.
Why is the woman there? What is she reading? Is she waiting for someone? The painting doesn’t answer these questions—but that’s exactly what makes it so compelling.

If you visit the museum, take a moment to sit with this artwork. Let its silence speak to you.

Bonus Tip:
If you’re interested in more of Hammershøi’s work, check out the painting “Interior with Ida Playing the Piano” at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.

▶ Read more in our National Museum of Western Art article

アートおへんろ

Discover Masterpieces at The National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo Explore the Highlights of the Permanent Collection and the Matsukata Collection Looking for Western art in Japan? Start