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Works of Monet

The art of Claude Monet is unique because of his innovative use of color, light, and brushwork. Monet was a pioneer of the Impressionist movement, which sought to capture the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere in a way that traditional academic painting did not. Monet's paintings often consisted of loose, fluid brushstrokes, which he used to create an impression of color and light rather than a precise representation of objects. He was also known for his use of bright, vibrant colors, particularly in his series depicting water lilies and gardens. Additionally, Monet's work often focused on outdoor scenes, landscapes, and natural motifs, which was quite different from the traditional academic paintings of the time that depicted historical or mythological subjects. Thus overall, we find the works of Monet as unique and innovative with his techniques, vibrant colors, and focus on capturing the beauty and movement of nature.

 

Let's discuss some his work, his technique and survey some of his lesser known pieces...

The Portal by Monet: The Rouen Cathedral Paintings & The Morning Sun

Denise K. McTighe

ASAG Journal

April 14, 2020

Light glided across his landscapes bringing an illumination to the art world that had the critics and society unsure of this wild, and rebellious break from structure. His brushstrokes were full of movement and intensity that transported into his canvasses a breath of nature, that glimmered and moved almost as if truly animate scenes. He created many paintings of one subject- conveying the lightness of its being through different lenses of Nature’s spectacles and shifting views.

In 1892 France, Oscar-Claude Monet attempted an architectural piece with his series of The Rouen Cathedral in Normandy. The collection of impressionist paintings made between 1892 and 1894, concluded with thirty works depicting different vistas and interpretations of the church’s facade. He set up his easel in nearby streets and buildings close to the grand Cathedral, moving locations in hopes to expand his understanding and perspective for his creations that would be completed in his studio at Giverny. The artist with his palate, captured the changing luminosity and the moving shadows that shifted in shape and quality with the hours, seasons and the evolving skies. His endeavor emulated the different moods reflected - the early morning freshness that was carried off by his hues into the late afternoon with strokes that turned the bricks into more mellow brightness. He caught the muted tones in overcast days, with the rain falling across his viewpoint turning his brushstrokes grey. And in clear evenings he swept the cathedral into the moonlit night with amber sometimes set on fire by the setting sun, until the shine melted into blueish and violet shades tinged with copper that burned softly against the impending night, where the stars would finally steal the show. 

In 1894, after great study and time spent at the monument, Monet completed a masterful painting of the Rouen at first day break. The Rouen Cathedral: The Portal, also called Soleil (Sunlight), oil on canvas, held a particular quality of presence with broader brushstrokes that added a depth to the bricks and the structure, gleaming with a new day. The slumbering shadows of the hushed pinkish, and titian tones seem to be awakening as the very tops of the cathedral are set aglow by the approaching footsteps of the full, morning Sun. As the name suggests, The Portal is an entryway into a radiant scene of the beautiful cathedral that can be revisited through the fleeting moments of time of Monet’s impressionistic point of view. 

Figures

Monet’s Rouen Cathedral Paintings and the Morning Sun

The Techniques of Monet

Randy H. Sooknanan

ASAG Journal

April 14, 2020

Claude Monet (1840-1926) was a French artist credited for inventing Impressionism, a painting style  dedicated to bringing the fullness of nature onto a canvas through light and movement. Monet was known for his luminous paintings of gardens, landscapes city scenes and water  lilies. His paintings are full of life and color,  that seem lit from the physical sun, transcending artistic interpretations of it.

Let's take a look at "View of Argenteuil in the Snow", 1875 by Claude Monet.
 Monet’s Palette, which is now in the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris, France, along with some other pieces produced by this prominent Impressionist movement artist. We can pay special attention to his incredible technique and style...

Remarkably, his artworks were created with only a few hues, and after 1886 Monet had completely erased any browns and blacks from his palette. According to the master himself:

“As for the colors I use, what's so interesting about that? I don't think one could paint better or more brightly with another palette. The most important thing is to know how to use the colors. Their choice is a matter of habit. In short, I use white lead, cadmium yellow, vermilion, madder, cobalt blue, chrome green. That's all."

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"View of Argenteuil in the Snow", 1875 by Claude Monet

https://www.wikiart.org/en/claude-monet/view-of-argenteuil-in-the-snow

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Monet’s Palette, in the Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris, France

https://drawpaintacademy.com/paint-like-claude-monet/

Other Monet works

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"The Basin At Argenteuil", 1872 by Claude Oscar Monet
Style: Landscape, Impressionism, Location: Musée d’Orsay, Paris

Claude Monet, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Claude_Monet_-_The_basin_at_Argenteuil.jpg

During the this time in Monet's career we find him at the boat basin at Argenteuil, with its long promenade and terraced café, it was a popular site for watching sailing regattas on the Seine. Above we see Monet set up his easel on an island across the river, distinguishing the landscape using optical effects and textures with strategically varied brushmarks. Below we can a sense of his texture with a nature scene.

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Study of Olive Trees (1884) by Claude Monet

https://www.wikiart.org/en/claude-monet/olive-trees-study

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