Claude Monet is one of the most celebrated names in the history of the art world. The artist was a founder of the French Impressionist painting. The Impressionist movement was majorly concerned with seizing light and natural forms. Without a doubt, Monet is one of the most famous landscape artists and a leading dignitary in the Impressionist movement. His works are amplifying the beauty of various museums all across the world.
Early life:
At a very early and tender age, Monet discovered his unparalleled love for drawings. His books from school were occupied with sketches of people along with the caricatures of his teachers. His mother entirely supported him and his love for art, but his father wanted him to establish himself in the domain of business. In his immediate community, Monet started gaining recognition for his caricatures and for drawing the portraits of many residents of his town. His meeting with Eugene Boudin, a local landscape artist, became the turning point as Boudin introduced him to the world of nature paintings. After this, Monet started exploring the natural world in his artworks.
Key facts about the artist:
- The early works of Monet owe credit to the Realists’ interests in portraying contemporary subjects as this enabled the artist to paint outdoors in order to capture the momentary qualities of the Mother Nature.
- Monet broke the shackles of depiction of form and clear linear perspective which were considered ideal in that era. Instead, he chose to experiment with loose handling and bold colours while trying eccentric compositions. His enthralling nature paintings weren’t focussed on representing figures as he was more concerned with showcasing the varying qualities of light and atmosphere in each of the created scenes.
- This landscape artist is considered as a colourist and a painter of light and atmosphere. His works attained an extraordinary degree of abstraction and this served as a great source of inspiration for the subsequent generations of abstract artists.
- In the later years, the sensitivity of Monet towards decorative qualities of colour and form increased manifolds. As a result of this, he started painting in smaller strokes while building up the broader fields of colours in order to explore the various potentials being held by the decorative paint surface of synchronisations and contrasts of colours.
- Monet is famous as the artist who painted in series. Whether it is haystacks or Venice, a majority of the artworks created by this landscape artist are in series.
Notable Artworks:
- Women in the garden (1866-1867):
This painting was created using his lover Camille as the only model. The main intention behind creating this masterwork was to showcase the true effects of outdoor light. Right from the shining sun to the shadows of trees, Monet’s focus was on giving the details of natural light.
- Westminster Bridge (aka The Thames below Westminster) (1871):
This is one of the finest examples of the artist’s work. This simple, yet detailed, artwork captures each and every detail extremely beautifully. The composition is simple but it strikes a perfect balance between the various independent elements of the artwork. By looking at the painting very closely, one can identify that the entire scene is covered with a layer of mist which contains violet, gold, pink and green hues. This casts a dark shadow of dense atmosphere which renders the distant architecture.
- Water Lilies (1915-1926):
This entire series of nature paintings helped Monet reach the pinnacle of success. This series was the main force which made him the biggest landscape artist of all times. This particular series kept the artist occupied for a long period of time and includes artworks of water, lilies and sky.
Conclusion:
Without a single doubt, Monet is one of the
finest landscape artists that the world has ever witnessed and the magnificence of his unique art is still inspiring the new age artists.
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