Claude Monet. This Month in Art Literacy. Claude Monet (moh-nay) French Impressionist Painter. Art Elements. Art Principles.

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1 This Month in Art Literacy Claude Monet (moh-nay) French Impressionist Painter C laude Monet was the French artist whose works defined the Impressionist movement in the last half of the 19th century. The Impressionist artists painted in plein air (in the open air) and concentrated on capturing the impression of a scene. They focused on the e ffects of light and atmosphere using bright, pure colors applied in loose brushstrokes. The public initially rejected this revolutionary approach and critics considered their works unfinished, calling them mere impressions and sketches. Monet developed the Impressionist technique to its most complete form. He remained loyal through his entire career to the goal of capturing the transitory e ffects of nature through direct observation. He departed from tradition by painting directly onto the canvas at the scene, using patches of pure color placed sided by side to build his shapes. Rather than mixing the pure colors on a palette, Monet s technique was one of optical color mixing, letting the viewer s eye fuse the colors visually. His most enduring works were paintings done in series, depicting the same subject under various conditions and at different times of the day. Even though the Impressionist group began to dissolve in the mid-1880s, Monet continued to be loyal to the movement, painting up until his death in In its short existence, the Impressionists accomplished a revolution in the history of Western art that freed later artists such as Paul Cezanne, Paul Gaugin, Vincent van Gogh and George Seurat from traditional painting techniques. Vocabulary I m p re s s i o n i s m An art movement begun in the 1860s in Paris by a group of artists who rejected traditional methods and subject matter. They recorded everyday life in fleeting impressions, painted outof-doors, and concentrated especially on light and its effects on color. Motif The main element, idea or feature of a work of art. P l e i n - a i r P a i n t i n g Painting in the open air, directly out of doors. E n v e l o p p e M o n e t s term for the atmospheric sheath of colored light in which a scene is bathed at any given moment; the consistent overall light spreading everywhere throughout a painting. Art Elements Color Color has three properties: hue, value, and intensity. There are two types of hues: primary (red, blue and yellow) and secondary (green, purple and orange). Colors can be warm (red, yellow and orange) and appear to advance in a painting, or cool (green, blue and purple) and seem to recede in a painting. Complementary colors are those opposite each other on the color wheel. Monet painted colors of objects as they appeared in natural light. He used bright dabs or patches of color to reflect the effects of sunlight, and created shadows by using complementary colors instead of gray or black. Shape Shape is an area that is contained within an implied line, or is seen because of color or value changes. Shapes can be geometric or organic. Monet used color instead of line to create his shapes, which were suggested only by their most prominent features. He repeated shapes within a painting and often abstracted his organic shapes into simple silhouettes or geometric shapes. Art Principles R e p e t i t i o n Repetition occurs when an element (color, shape, line, value, space, texture) appears more than once in an artwork. When the repeating elements are identical or very similar, a rhythm is established and the viewer s eye moves from one to another. If the spaces between repeating elements are about even, a regular rhythm is established; if they are uneven, the rhythm is irregular. Monet repeated themes and motifs throughout his work. He repeated a single motif in varying colors in his series paintings. Shapes are repeated in his many works, particularly those which contain reflections on water. Unity Visual unity is one of the most important aspects of well-designed art and is planned by the artist. Unity provides the cohesive quality that makes the work feel complete and finished. A similar overall surface treatment creates a strong sense of unity in a work. Overall intense colors and repeated shapes also create u n i t y. A dominant color, repeated textures and consistent paint application create unity. Monet used all of these techniques in his paintings. 1

2 C laude Monet was born in Paris, France, on November 14, His father had a small store in a working class neighborhood, but when Claude was five years old, the family moved to LeHavre, a bustling seaport on the north coast of France. Monet did not like school and never did well in his studies. He spent much of his time drawing caricatures in his books. At around age 15, he quit school and expressed the intention of becoming a painter. His early sketch books reflected an interest in landscapes, but his reputation for caricatures enabled him to display some of them in the shop window of a local frame-maker, Monsieur Gravier. Gravier also displayed paintings by his friend, Eugene Boudin, who was a landscape painter. Boudin was impressed by Monet s talent and introduced himself, inviting Monet to accompany him to paint plein-air (out of doors). Monet later admitted that his meeting with Boudin had been a key event in his life, saying, It was as if a veil suddenly lifted from my eyes and I knew that I could be a painter. When he was eighteen, Monet went to Paris to study art. His father approved of the move on one condition: he was to enroll in the École des Beaux Arts to receive a high quality education. His application for a grant was turned down, however, and Monet enrolled in the less-structured Académie Suisse. The Académie provided models, but no instruction, assuming that the students would learn from each other. Here he met a fellow student, Camille Pissarro, who was to become his close friend. After a brief period of military service in North A f r i c a that ended when Monet contracted typhoid, he returned to LeHavre in 1862 to convalesce and resume his painting. Following his recovery, Monet enrolled in a traditional studio in Paris under the tutelage of Charles Gleyre. Gleyre s studio was slightly more structured than the Académie Suisse, and it attracted less conventional students. Here Monet met Pierre- Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and Frédéric Bazille (who would become his closest friend and frequent source of financial support). With Pissarro and Degas (who studied elsewhere), this group of men formed the core of the Impressionist movement. Monet remained at Gleyre s studio for approximately two years until it closed in Although he received instruction in studio painting and the human form, his enthusiasm for outdoor painting was not diminished. Biography This enthusiasm and appreciation of the world outdoors was rewarding, but Monet wanted to make a name for himself; this meant appeasing the traditionalists of the Académie. Monet followed the expectations placed on serious entries to the Salon and painted several pictures indoors that were very successful. But one piece drew some criticism. Quite the opposite from the expected smooth surfaces which were in vogue at the time, one of Monet s entry was broadly handled with a loaded brush, giving a rough surface texture and clearly visible brush strokes, and sacrificing detail to overall affect. Monet persisted in his efforts to appeal to the Académie, and from 1865 to 1866 he painted a number of subjects with varying degrees of success. His future wife, Camille Doncieux, posed for several of these painting (they were married in 1870). Despite his efforts, the Salon rejected his work. Shortly after, Frederick Bazille, his true and supportive friend, agreed to buy one of his paintings, making monthly installment payments upon which the young family relied. Monet moved his family to London in October of 1870 to avoid involvement in the Franco-Prussian War (unfortunately, Bazille enlisted for military service and was killed in action.) In London, Monet was part of a large group of Frenchmen who had emigrated to avoid the war. It was here he was introduced to the art dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, who would become his new source of financial support. For the next ten years, much of Monet s work was handled by Durand-Ruel on speculation, providing an income for the family. Durand- Ruel gambled that as Monet s reputation grew, so would the value of his work. Monet later said, Without him, we would have all starved. In 1871, Monet left London and returned to France. He rented a house at Argenteuil on the Seine, about 6 miles to the Northwest from Paris, where he and Camille lived for the next six years. During this period, Monet was frequently joined by Renoir and other friends from his student days, and together they painted every aspect of life and the world outdoors. Argenteuil was also the center of a new Sunday pastime boating. Situated in a deep basin of the Seine, it was the site of regular regattas. Monet bought a small boat and converted it to a floating studio, enabling him to be enveloped in the light reflecting off the water. It gave him an unobstructed and undis- 2

3 Biography turbed vantage point from which to paint. His work was smaller in scale, brighter in color and with less controlled brush strokes, transcribing physical facts into their pictorial components. In 1874, Manet, Degas, Cézanne, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley and Monet put together an exhibition that was hung in the studio of the famous photographer, Nadar. This exhibition ran simultaneously with the Salon. Although critical reaction to the show was mixed, most reviewers felt the efforts of the artists deserved to be encouraged. One of Monet s contributions to the exhibit was a painting entitled I m p ression: Sunrise; t h i s painting is largely credited with the naming of the entire movement. Although originally used in a derogatory sense, reflecting the prejudice of the academic preference against sketching in favor of the fully finished work, the term Impressionism came to represent the young artists and their style of painting. In the winter of , Monet embarked on the plan of painting a single subject from various viewpoints. For this purpose he chose the Gare Saint-Lazare, a railway station in Paris that was the hub for trains departing toward A rgenteuil. The constant movement of trains and passengers offered a view of modern life that Monet found irresistible, and he received permission to work in and around the station, painting scenes from d i fferent vantage points. He continued this plan of single subject painting for much of the rest of his life. luxury of substantial income, Monet devoted himself to the decoration of his house and grounds in Giverny. His home was not only his refuge his garden became a work of art in itself. His elaborate grounds and plantings provided a motif for the painter s last important works, the Water Lily series. These paintings showed the vitality and complexity of Monet s brush work at its height. Sky, water, and vegetation were transformed into swirling, vibrant masses of color. Monet was absorbed in this project almost exclusively from 1900 until his death. Monet began to experience recurrant headaches and vision problems around He suffered from cataracts and his eyes were deteriorating, but he continued to paint untreated for another 14 years. He died on Dec. 5, In 1980, the house and gardens at Giverny were restored and opened to the public, now attracting millions of tourists yearly as a tribute to Monet and Impressionism. In 1892, Monet began the work that would consume his final years. He began experiments with changing light; he painted not just different aspects of the same location, as he had done with the Gare Saint-Lazare, but he painted the same scene repeatedly as the light, seasons or atmospheric conditions changed. His first series was of grainstacks around his house in Giverny where he moved his family in He also painted other series: poplar trees, Rouen Cathedral, mornings on the Siene, and finally the Thames and Houses of Parliament in London. The series works were intended to be exhibited together in one man, one motif shows. Hung together in a single room, the viewer was forced to look at the nuances of light and color, and at the small alterations of shading, noticing how every aspect of the scene was altered in accordance with changing light. By the 1890s, Monet became financially secure for the first time in his life; his paintings were sought after by collectors from all over the world. With the 3

4 Scanning Questions Scanning Slide Regatta at Argenteuil 1872, oil on canvas, 18 x 29-1/2, Musée d Orsay, Paris Art Elements: What you see. Color Are the colors in this painting warm or cool? (There are both warm and cool colors.) Where did the artist use warm colors? (The houses, boat sails, and their reflections.) Where did he use cool colors? (The water, sky and vegetation.) Shape Where are there examples of a geometric shape? (Houses, sails.) Where is an organic shape? (Trees.) Are the shapes detailed or simplified? (Simplified.) Art Principles: How the elements are arranged. Repetition What shapes did Monet repeat? (Houses, sailboats.) What effect does repetition of shapes have? (It creates a rhythm.) Unity How does color unify this painting? (The colors repeat in both the top and bottom of the painting.) Would the painting be complete if anything was removed? Technical Properties: How it is made. Did the artist use a small or large brush or both? Where? Where do you think Monet was when he painted this work? Expressive Properties: How it makes you feel. What feeling do you get when you look at this painting? (Try to describe your feeling using one word). What would you be doing in this scene if you were there? 4

5 Claude Monet 1 Slide Images

6 1. Photo of Monet in his studio 1917, photo by Henri Manuel, Musée Marmottan Monet built this studio at his home in Giverny to accommodate the waterlilies decoration for the Museé L Orangerie. The canvases were so large that painting outdoors was not feasible. They were placed on wheeled chassis so that he could push them together to create continuous stretches of painting that entirely surrounded him. 2. Impression: Sunrise 1872, oil on canvas, 19 x 24-3/4, Musée Marmottan, Paris This seascape is Monet s impression of the sunrise over the Le Havre harbor as seen from his hotel window. A quickly executed work, it captures an atmospheric moment. It was entered in the first group of paintings that was rejected by the official French Academy s Salon in Giving it the title of Impression was unprecedented for a work of art and caused a critic to coin the word for the group when he exclaimed, this is nothing but an impression... Ironically, with its thin muted washes of color, rather than broken patches of pure color, it is not typical of what became the Impressionist style. However, elements of Monet s new style are evident in the subject matter. The red sun on the gray-blue sky reflects on the waves. Monet was fascinated with water and it s reflective quality throughout his career. It is not the boats and the harbor that are the subjects here, but the red sun and its light path swathed in blue mist. The sun magically transforms the harbor into a spectacle of natural color. The figures are mere silhouettes against the background and he reduces objects to a few brushstrokes. This freer brushwork was not well received by a shocked public who felt the painting was unfinished and sketchy. Why do you think this painting was titled, Impression? 3. Bathers at La Grenouillere ( The Frog Pond ) 1869, oil on canvas, 28-3/4 x 36, National Gallery, London Together with his friend, fellow Impressionist Auguste Renoir, Monet painted this popular gathering place on the Seine River several times. He combines the contemporary subject matter of people at leisure with the fleeting effect of the sunlight on the water. It is a good example of his distinctive style with the individual dashes of bright color painted rapidly and at the location. It captures the impression of the plein-air setting favored by the Impressionists. Japanese influences are also evident in the composition (Monet was an avid collector of Japanese woodblock prints). The boats in the foreground are cut off (cropped) to lead the eye into the space, but it is offset by the flattening effect of the wooden pier, which cuts the painting in half. This was a very typical Japanese device, but unconventional in the West. The broad shapes of light and dark above that line are repeated in the lower half of the painting, giving a flat decorative unity to the composition. The swimmers on the top are reduced to individual patches of color, as are the ripples of water on the bottom. These reflections cause repetition of both shape and color in the composition. Monet continued to be fascinated by reflections throughout his career. This use of repeated small dots and dashes of color to depict flickering vibrations of light on water marked a turning point for Monet and the debut of the Impressionist technique. What is repeated in this painting? 5

7 4. Regatta at Argenteuil 1872, oil on canvas, 18 x 29-1/2, Musée d Orsay, Paris Monet lived in Argenteuil, just outside Paris, and frequently painted alongside fellow artists and Impressionists Edouard Manet, Alfred Sisley and Auguste Renoir. The pleinair landscapes of the period between 1872 and 1877 in Argenteuil are some of Monet s best-known and popular works. It was during this period that Impressionism most closely approached a group style. This painting was painted from his studio boat, anchored on the Seine River. In this scene, Monet painted the warm, creamy silhouette of the sails against the cool blue sky, and boldly simplified the shapes. The sailboats cast their long, broken shadows across the water. As in the Bathers at La Grenouillere, Monet paints the reflections using different shapes and sizes of pure broad horizontal strokes of color. These horizontal strokes capture the ripples of the waves on the water s surface. The interplay of pure, intense cool and warm colors creates a brightness and vibration on the canvas, giving the impression of bright flickering sunlight. The reflections in the water create repetition of color and shapes in the lower half of the canvas, unifying it with the top of the painting. How does color unify this painting? Fun Fact: This same scene as painted by Renoir can be seen at the Portland Art Museum. 5. Gare St. Lazare 1877, oil on canvas, 21-1/2 x 29, National Gallery, London In the winter of , Monet first experimented with repetitions of a single motif from various viewpoints. He chose the St.Lazare train station for this series of 12 paintings. The motif was a symbol of modernity and therefore a quintessential Impressionist subject. However, Monet s emphasis was on the dramatic atmospheric effects of the steam and smoke (forms of Monet s favorite subject water), which almost dematerialize the train. The rigid black glass vault, with its static, inverted v -shape, provides a perfect frame, as well as a medium for registering changes in light and color on the scene. The same color is used for the figures and trains. They appear black; however, Monet actually used very little black pigment. He created the effect of black by combining various bright colors blue, green and red. What shape does Monet repeat? Monet repeats shapes throughout the composition. There is a group of three clouds of smoke/steam in the center of the painting. The blue used to depict the cloud of smoke is the single dominant color, which repeats throughout the composition and thus unifies the painting. Beneath these clouds are three dark shapes two locomotives and a cluster of figures surrounding tall lampposts. The combined shapes of the figures and lampposts mimic the shapes of the trains. On the right are three more dark shapes of arches. This repetition of shapes unifies these various areas into a complete whole. Notice how the figures are not important to Monet and are mere silhouettes of color. This is one of the last times he painted figures in his compositions. By the 1880s, figures are no longer present and he changed focus from contemporary human life to atmospheric changes in nature. 6

8 6. Poppy Field in a Hollow near Giverny 1885, oil on canvas, 26 x 32, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston No clear outlines appear in this sunny landscape which Monet painted in plein air. The Impressionists observed that objects seen in strong light lose their definition and appear to blend into one another. This is an excellent example of the Impressionist technique with the forms and textures suggested entirely by the size, shape, and direction of the brushstrokes. The high horizon draws the eye backward down the river-like pattern of red poppies (alluding to water) which creates the impression of symmetrically arranged expanses of color in the foreground. The path of scarlet dabs of unmixed bright red color is set against a sea of complementary green fields. The juxtaposition of these two pure colors causes the field to vibrate and adds to the feeling of haziness that hangs over the painting. The unfinished details give the impression of the moment and of the heat at the scene. Monet has abstracted the shapes to reflect the atmosphere rather than to represent a specific reality. The overall surface treatment of repeated red dabs and green vertical brushstrokes lends unity to the painting. What two complementary colors dominate this work? Series Paintings Throughout his career, Monet painted repeated views of the same motif. However, from 1890 on, he began working on coherent series paintings that were conceived as a suite to be exhibited together. Although the idea of a painter showing a related series seems familiar today, in Monet s time it was a totally new concept in Western art. He took his inspiration from woodblock print series by Japanese artists, such as Hokusai s 100 Views of Fuji and Hiroshige s 100 Views of Edo. These series paintings were an important departure for Monet and set the pattern for much of his later career. He directed his energies towards groups of paintings, rather than single canvases. Monet s series paintings of the 1890s fall into several distinct groups: Grain Stacks, Poplars, Rouen Cathedral and Mornings on the Seine. He focused almost exclusively on the atmospheric enveloppe of light that unifies a scene. To achieve this, Monet stripped his subject matter down to a few boldly stated shapes of color. The motif became secondary to color and light, with the overall effect changing in differing times of day or year and under different weather conditions. The color unity in these paintings is so strong, due to the enveloppe of color and light, that one single word or sensation can be used to describe each work bright, harmonious, cool, or warm. When viewed together, the series gave the illusion of a motif in continuous atmospheric flux. These series paintings are central to appreciating Monet s art. 7

9 7. Grain Stack, Sunset 1891, oil on canvas, 29-1/2 x 37, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Monet chose to paint the grain stacks in the field near his house. They were a good choice because they stayed in the same place for a long period of time, allowing him to paint them under different circumstances. He painted fifteen paintings showing the stacks in different seasons and times of day. In this version of the grain stack, we see the stack close-up as a solid shape. By standing very close to the stack he could paint it as a mass of color. It is interesting to note that the pyramidal shape of the stack conveys a sense of permanence that somewhat contradicts the transient effects of the setting sun. However, the stack is never overwhelmed by the light and thus never loses its sense of shape. Monet even outlines it, with bold red color. He unifies the huge stack with the background by having it touch the houses in the center of the painting. Does this painting have a warm or cool enveloppe? The entire scene appears to be aflame with the last rays of the sun. Monet achieves his warm enveloppe of color and light by painting the scene with an orange base color. The sun casts a brilliant orange-gold glow across the field. The red outlines around the silhouette of the stack convey the effect of a solid shape blocking the warm glowing light. 8. Wheat Stacks (Sunset, Snow Effect) 1891, oil on canvas, 26 x 39-1/2, Art Institute of Chicago At least twelve of the Wheat Stacks canvases were painted during the winter and involve snow effects. Snow, having no inherent color, was a perfect vehicle for the study of colored light. In winter the colors are intensified due to the setting sun after a sunless day. Here the bright, intense blue, purple, pink and harsh orange suggest the color of the light created by snow clouds moving across the inflamed sky at sunset. However, despite the inflamed sky, the enveloppe is cool due to the overall use of blue tones. The shapes of the two stacks are silhouetted, casting cool blue shadows shadows. These shadows are jagged and dramatic repetitions of the geometric shapes of the grain stacks. The color of shadows became a pre-occupation of the Impressionist painters like Monet. They realized that shadows were the interplay of warm colors with their cool complements. What color are the shadows? 8

10 9. Rouen Cathedral, West Facade, Sunlight 1894, oil on canvas, 39-1/2 x 26, National Gallery, Washington D.C. Beginning in 1892, Monet began painting the facade of Rouen Cathedral in his native Normandy. From rooms facing the cathedral across a square, he concentrated on the analysis of light and its effects on the forms of the facade, changing from one canvas to another as the day progressed. The stone facade might seem an unusual choice of motif for an artist dedicated to nature, but light changes even stone. Monet described the sun s effects as follows: sun s rays slowly dissolved the mists...that wrapped the golden stone in an ideally vaporous enveloppe. The gray stone was quite unlike his previous motifs, which were either reflections on colorless water or had quite strong colors themselves. Therefore the color schemes of the cathedrals were more obviously a chosen color harmony. It is clear he was less concerned with the shape of the motif; rather, he let the surface of the facade catch the light and shadows in its recesses. His viewpoint was even closer than in the Grain Stacks, almost severing the facade from the building and its surrounding square. This helped reinforce the vital design component of these works colored light rather than the architectural details. There is no foreground or horizon; we see only a small portion of blue sky to contrast the bright yellow facade. The enveloppe is golden yellow, with shadows created by a warm orange and its cool blue complement next to it. The warm color, orange, projects towards the viewer, creating the illusion of a doorway arch, while the cooler blue accents in between the towers recede, bringing the yellow sections of the building forward. There is a pattern created by the repetition of warm and cool colors across the facade, lending animation to the otherwise static building. The overall thick brushwork seems to melt the details and even resembles the crusty stone of the cathedral, adding unity to the painting. What aspects of Impressionism are seen in this painting? 10. Rouen Cathedral, Facade 1894, oil on canvas, 39-1/2 x 26, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston This painting is another in the series that totaled thirty paintings upon completion. Monet needed to work quickly before the light would change the colors. He relied on color instead of contour lines to describe the surface of the facade. In fact, he needed to return to the studio to complete the paintings from memory to achieve the uniformity he desired. Here the cathedral seems to be bathed in light, but the bottom of the facade is already in less direct light, shadowed in blues and purples. Again we can see the repetition of juxtaposed cool and warm colors animating the facade. Despite the glowing orange, complementary blues give this painting an overall cool enveloppe. Each painting in the series is characterized by the unity of its dominant color theme. In this series Monet departs from Impressionism in two critical respects: the works were not completed in plein air, but rather were finished off in the studio; and the motif of the cathedral looked almost abstracted and was secondary to the effects of light. He begins to foreshadow the more expressive use of color favored by the Post-Impressionist painters. What are the two complementary colors in this painting? 9

11 11. Poplars on the Epte c.1891, oil on canvas, 32 x 32, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh With this series Monet revisited the theme of reflection, which he returned to often after the 1860s. However, now the boundary between reality and reflection seems less obvious and offers no sense of space in the traditional manner. He simplifies and abstracts the shapes, and bases the framework of the design solely on repetition. Monet painted the trees from his studio boat in plein air. Because of the unusual viewpoint, shimmering foliage occupies most of the canvas. He stretched trees and their reflections from the top to the bottom of the painting. Contrary to the isolation of the grain stack s clumsy shape in the landscape, he painted the poplars as elegant shapes, whose effectiveness is enhanced by their repetition. The trees and their reflection combine to create a large green shape receding diagonally toward the horizon. Repetition of color is also important to the composition. The repetition of the orange clouds against the blue sky and blue water is seen on the left and right side of the painting, as well as on the top and the bottom. These color contrasts strike the eye and simultaneously unify the composition. What organic shapes do you see? 10

12 Water Landscapes in Giverny In 1890 Monet purchased a house at Giverny on the Seine, outside Paris. He created a large flower garden and on adjacent land, built a pond that he filled with thousands of waterlilies both, as he said, for the pleasure of the eyes and for the purpose of having subjects to paint. These gardens became his primary motif for the rest of this life. Monet s first paintings of the 20th century were images of the Japanese-style footbridge that arched across the pond, with reflection of trees among the waterlilies on the surface of the water. The watery surface, like the atmospheric enveloppe Monet sought in his series paintings, unified his canvases. Monet had always been interested in water and reflections, seeing their fragmented forms as the natural equivalent for his own broken brushwork. 12. Bridge Over a Pool of Waterlilies 1899, oil on canvas, 36-1/2 x 29, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City This is one of eighteen views of the footbridge over Monet s pond at his home in Giverny. Everyone called it the Japanese Bridge, and it was probably inspired by a bridge depicted in a print by Utagawa Hiroshige that hung in Monet s home. Monet painted this scene from the water itself, in his studio boat. The bridge cuts across the canvas and extends beyond its edges. The sky has disappeared and the lush foliage rises all the way to the horizon, so as not to distract us from the subject at hand. However, the bridge is not the main subject; rather, the water lilies and the reflections of the willows are the main motifs. Monet paints the water as a wedge-like shape that stretches across the entire foreground, leading the viewer into the distance. The water s surface consumes the majority of the canvas. The similar overall surface treatment and unity of color gives the painting a distinct color scheme. Many of the paintings in this series actually have titles alluding to their color schemes, such as harmony in green. Despite the green enveloppe derived from the natural setting, there are other colors used here. The floating leaves of the lilies are painted in silvery-green, reflecting the sunlight. The flowers are indicated with large dabs of white, with tinges of yellow and pink. The reflection (repetition of the shape) of the green bridge appears in its complementary color, red, toward the bottom of the painting. The repeated bands of waterlilies appear as flattened areas of broken color, without a traditional sense of depth. Only the shape of the track of water gives us the illusion of perspective. This painting reflects Japanese influences in the Monet s composition. Where is the sky in this painting? 11

13 13. Water Lilies: Japanese Bridge c.1922, oil on canvas, 35 x 45-1/2, Minneapolis Institute of Arts Monet produced this painting at a time when his deteriorating eyesight was diminished by cataracts. Monet had already added a second tier to his footbridge and resumed painting a group of easel paintings of the bridge in plein-air. He represented only a fragment of his subject, and enlarged it. Wild expressive strokes of red and gold replaced the blues and greens of 20 years prior, giving the painting a fiery enveloppe. Objective reality gives way to the expressive power of shape and color. The energetic brushstrokes of vibrant color float on the surface of the canvas, without the benefit of a horizon line for stability. The brushstrokes whirl around the composition in a pattern of light and shadow, rendering the footbridge unimportant. Monet anticipates abstract expression in modern art with this celebration of color and shape. Unity is still present through the repetition of the shapes of the bridge and the overall color harmony of the warm reds, oranges and yellows. What time of day do you think this painting represents? Fun Fact: By the time Monet was convinced to have surgery for his cataracts, he had only 10% vision in one eye. His daughter helped him with his work by identifying his tubes of paint. 14. Waterlilies 1915, oil on canvas, 63-1/4 x 71, Portland Art Museum, Oregon Beginning in 1903, Monet painted a group of increasingly experimental, dream-like water landscapes, as he called them. These paintings were magnified views of the waterlilies on the water s surface. One gardener was employed solely to maintain the waterlilies in the compositional order that Monet wanted. Monet stood in his boat and looked down on the lilies, causing the viewpoint to tilt. The rest of the pond setting evaporates and the water surface alone occupies the entire canvas. Floating lily pads and mirrored reflections of willows assume equal importance, blurring the lines between solid objects and the effects of light on water. Sky, water, and vegetation are transformed into vibrant masses of color. The surface of the water, the depths below it, and the light reflecting off of it are now the motif. The water lily shapes float in open space, with color alone giving the clue to what we see. Green stands for vegetation and blue for the water and sky. Repeated clusters of white and red color depict the flowers on the disc-shaped pads. We could turn the scene upside down and still achieve the same feeling, which demonstrates the new reality created by this close-up viewpoint, coupled with the abstracted shapes and brushwork. What shapes do you see in the water s reflection? 12

14 15. Nympheas: Green Reflections (detail) 1918, oil on canvas, 13 panel, Museé L Orangerie, Paris Monet s last series consisted of 14-foot canvases of waterlilies, which he bequeathed to France. They were installed in two oval rooms of the L Orangerie Museum in the Tuileries Gardens shortly after his death. The panels were dozens of feet in width, and Monet had a special studio built to accommodate them in Giverny. In these paintings, one color predominates and one or two tones of color modulate the field of the composition. He was at least 50 years ahead of other 20th-century painters who painted in this manner. The dense brushstrokes are long and raking, carrying color across the picture surface. There is unity among the different sequences of the panels as they form a continuous frieze around the room, surrounding the viewer with the illusion of an endless expanse of water. Motif and viewer are both engulfed in the atmospheric enveloppe. The specific color harmony (or enveloppe ) of this detail of the panel is reflected in the title green reflections. The lily pads are hazy and almost dissolve into the water s surface. Their shapes are suggested by a few abstract brushstrokes, with the oval shapes floating in the space of the water s surface. At the top of the canvas, the lower depths of the water and its reflected vegetation are painted in fairly dark, cool tones with heavily streaked brushstrokes. The uniformly repeated brushwork in this area makes it hard to distinguish between water, reflections, and the weeds and plants below the surface. These later water landscapes are not entirely non-representational, yet they are not truly conceptual either. They are a combination of the two, which foreshadows Abstract Expressionism. How did Monet create the shapes of the lily pads and flowers? 13

15 Hands-on Project Pastel Reflection Goal Produce a water scene showing reflection using Monet s Impressionist method of creating shapes and optical color mixing via repeated dashes, dabs and short streaks of pure color. Criteria Include at least two reflected shapes/objects. Create shapes/forms only through dashes, dabs and short streaks of color NO OUTLINES. Chose a time of day: noon-time, sunrise or sunset. Materials Oil pastels 6 x 4 1/2 white construction paper Procedure 1. Use the top half of the paper for your scene and reserve the lower half for its reflection. 2. Create the upper part of your composition. Lay down your scene using only dashes, dabs, and short streaks of color. (use predominantly horizontal dashes and strokes). DO NOT DRAW YOUR SHAPES USING OUT- LINES! 3. Repeat your shapes/objects upside down on the lower half of the paper to achieve your reflection. (Suggestion: It may be easier to produce the reflection if you turn the paper 90 degrees so that the horizon is vertical). 4. Depth of color can be achieved by using two or more similar colors next to each other. 5. Show the time of day by: a) adding yellow in the sky and white highlights in the water to show noon time sunlight; b) adding warm colors (peach, pink, orange, or red) close to the horizon coupled with dark cool colors (purple, blue, or green) in the water to depict the sunset. 6. Write your name in the bottom corner in pencil. 14