Into the Modern – National Gallery Exhibition Review

⭐ Name: Into the Modern: Impressionism from the Musem of Fine Arts, Boston
📍 Location: National Gallery Singapore, City Hall Wing, Level 3, Singtel Special Exhibition Galleries 1, 2 & 3
🗓️ Time: Exhibition runs from 14 Nov 2025 – 1 Mar 2026
💰 Cost: SGD 15 (for Singaporeans and PRs) and SGD 25 (for other Nationalities), with a 25% discount until 1 Feb 2026

Disclaimer: I’m not an art academic, a scholar, or a critic, I’m just someone who likes art.

I had a goal in 2025 to immerse myself more into arts and culture this year and I did it! I visited 3 exhibitions this year, each one in a different country. This limited-time exhibition at the National Gallery Singapore will likely be the last exhibition for 2025.

Why I wanted to go

Some friends and I had gone to Gardens by the Bay Impressions of Monet event in 2024 which included references to famous impressionists. I thought it would be fun to see some of those paintings in person, so I invited those same friends to come with me.

Tickets and Entry

We purchased the tickets at a 25% discount (Offer is valid until 1 Feb 2026). The receipt included a QR code that we used to get the actual tickets from the physical machines at the National Gallery.

The museum was expecting large weekend crowds, so they issued timed wristbands on a first-come-first-serve basis (Source). We diligently reached the museum just past its opening time of 10am and were rewarded with a fairly quiet exhibition experience.

Overview

Exhibition Layout

There were a total of three zones displaying the paintings from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The paintings were organised thematically into seven distinct sections. Each section breathed life into the stories of the 19th century impressionist movement. In every painting, we caught a glimpse of the past as seen through these painters’ eyes.

In between the first and second zone, there was a small area with windows that looked out across the Padang towards the Marina Bay Sands. This was an interactive zone stocked with paper, paints, and other tools so we could try creating some impressionist paintings ourselves.

How long was the experience?

It was possible to read every description and view every painting in this collection within 2 hours. Of course, if you don’t want to rush, you can probably stretch this experience to 3 hours or more.

I wanted to fully experience the exhibition, but it got a bit tiring standing and reading each label and walking around. There were not many seats in the exhibition for resting creaky knees and tired legs.

Photography and videography

Photos and videos were allowed throughout the exhibition. I appreciated that I could take photos of the paintings that I liked and of the museum labels so I could search up the artists later when I got home.

I was not able to do this at the Monet exhibition at a museum in Kyoto. There, photography was only allowed in one room. Granted, I think keeping the phones away made the museum experience interesting and less disruptive. I spent more time engaging with the painting or with my brother who was there with me. In the room where photography was allowed, it was slightly more crowded and chaotic, which wasn’t as enjoyable. So there are pros and cons to both rules.

Museum labels

My persistent gripe with museum labels is that they are quite small and hard to read from a distance. Unfortunately this is just a thing that happens with all museums, not just this one. You’ll have to wait your turn to read the label, if that’s something you’re interested in. I would have loved to have a catalogue or museum guide so I could read it more easily without having to walk back and forth between the painting and the description.

My Exhibition Experience

It was very cool to see some of these famous paintings in the flesh, or canvas, I should say. The most recognisable paintings to me were Dance at Bougival and Woman with a Parasol and Small Child on a Sunlit Hillside by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

I particularly enjoyed this quote from the museum label of the Parasol painting, “His painting style was judged harshly by some fellow artists, such as Edgar Degas, who disdainfully remarked, ‘[H]e paints with balls of wool.'” I agree with Degas, but I like the effect. It is reminiscent of pastels and is better at implying movement, such as the swaying grass on the hillside. It also evokes the feeling that I am looking back at a memory that is slightly out of focus.

While Monet is the most famous impressionist painter, his paintings on display at this exhibition weren’t the ones that most captured my attention. Instead, it was the depictions of water by Frits Thaulow that caught my eye. I had never heard of him before, but I loved his painting River View.

The third and final zone of the exhibition was my favourite in terms of the layout. It was a big chamber with a high ceiling and contained the largest paintings, so maybe it made a bigger impression. However, the paintings here were not in the “typical” impressionist style that I was familiar with.

This zone included a section on still lifes, which are works of art depicting inanimate subject matter (Source). Most of the paintings were of arrangements of fruit or flowers. It was a departure from the en plein air, or painting outdoors, that was common amongst the impressionists and in the earlier zones.

While it was unexpected, I actually liked quite a lot of these still life pieces. With the same genre of subjects, it was easier to see differences in painting techniques and styles between impressionist artists.

The final chamber is an entire room dedicated to Monet and his legacy, told through a selection of his paintings in his signature style.

One last interesting thing about the exhibition is that there were no signs telling people not to touch the paintings. To be clear, I didn’t see anyone touch the paintings. But there were certainly some fingers or noses just centimeters away from the canvases, it made me nervous.

While I had no doubt these paintings were the real deal, this lack of signage made me second guess myself. I couldn’t believe that the museum would be brazen enough to put them at risk of damage by letting visitors get so close. Upon reflection, I think most of the paintings were behind glass. So even if people did touch them, they wouldn’t have damaged the actual paintings inside.

Final thoughts

My favourite part about the exhibition was understanding the historical context and stories behind the pieces, rather than just viewing them on their own. Because these paintings were from so long ago, and created halfway across the world, the labels helped me to understand the wider context behind their creation.

I also enjoyed learning about how the proverbial sausage gets made. In this case, I was curious to know how the impressionists created their paintings. There was one section devoted to showcasing innovations that the impressionists explored in their art practice, including printmaking techniques. There were a few pieces displayed that utilised these techniques but there was no explanation until the very end. Even then, it was just a glass case showing some of the materials required to make the prints and a brief description of the process. I would have loved to see a modern demonstration and minimally for it to have been included earlier on in the exhibition. I personally think it makes me appreciate the pieces more.

I had this same gripe when I visited the Liu Kuo Song exhibition, also held at the National Gallery. But maybe it’s deliberately designed this way to allow people to engage with the paintings more immediately, without ruining the magic. But for me, especially in the age of air-brushed AI artwork, understanding the effort and craft only enhances its charm.

Thanks for reading 💜

I write about food, travel, and pop culture. If you liked this post and want to see more, sign up to my newsletter HERE. You will get little letters from me with updates of new stuff like blog posts, videos, or artwork. See you there!