Claude Monet

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was his wife, and when she became ill in 1876, because of the birth of their second son, Michel, on March 17, 1878, her body became more weak and her health faded drastically. At the age of thirty-two, “Monet’s wife died on September 5 1879 of tuberculosis” (3); Monet painted her on her death bed. After several difficult months following the death of Camille on 5 September 1879, Monet was grief-stricken

and began in earnest to create some of his best paintings of the 19th century so he wouldn’t be in poverty again. Eugène Boudin was another great influence. Aside from introducing plein-air painting, a phrase borrowed from the French equivalent meaning "open air”(4) also known as painting outside, he lead him to become the start of Impressionism. Monet really took a key technique from Boudin which was the method by which Boudin blended the sky and often focused on it, making the sky the point of interest in many of his paintings. Monet’s first influence ever was Johan Barthold Jongkind, who became Monet’s teacher. He shared with Monet his love of seascapes and his plein air technique that had such distinctly impressionistic qualities. Jongkind would go outside and paint what he could in watercolor and take notes, painting mostly his impressions of the effect of light and time on the subjects. Édouard Manet, although an influence, did not consider himself an Impressionist. His style of art preceded the Impressionist movement and was more realistic, especially in his early work. Manet focused on figure painting, never becoming a landscape artist. Many critics who preferred more realistic styles denounced Manet’s pictures as sketchy. In many of Monet’s pieces you see the influences between each brush stroke, whether it was coming from a friend or teacher or his genius mind inside.

Boulevard des Capucines was a painting that stood out to me the most during my research. Boulevard des Capucines captures a scene of the hustle and bustle of Parisian life from the studio of Monet’s friend, the photographer Felix Nadar. Applying very little detail, Monet uses short, quick brushstrokes to create the "impression" of people in the city alive with movement. “Critic Leroy was not pleased with these abstracted crowds, describing them as "black tongue-lickings (p112 5).” It was possible that this painting was put in a show of respect to his supporter. This is a Oil on canvas and is held at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City

“Women in the Garden” was painted at Ville d’Avray using his wife Camille as the only model.

Looking at this painting it seems that the goal of this large-scale work was to show the effects of true outdoor light, rather than conventions of modeling or drapery. Monet shows detail with the behavior of natural light in the scene. This painting is an Oil on canvas and is kept at the museum Louvre, in Paris. Another painting called Westminster Bridge was also known as “The Thames below Westminster” (pg 132 5) was painted on the Embankment in London. It is one of the finest examples of his work during the time he and his family were in wartime refuge. This simple, asymmetrical composition is balanced by the horizontal bridge, the boats floating upon the waves with the vertical wharf and ladder in the foreground. The entire scene is dominated by a layer of mist containing violet, gold, pink, and green, creating a dense atmosphere that renders the architecture in distant, blurred shapes. This piece is a oil on canvas and is held at the museum The National Gallery in London.

Monet’s extraordinarily long life and large artistic output benefited his popularity

Impressionism, a style he greatly influenced and practically helped start, continues to be one of the most reproduced styles of art for popular consumption in the form of calendars, postcards, and posters. Monet’s work is in every major museum worldwide and continues to be sought after.

While there have been major internationally touring retrospectives of his work, even the presence of one Monet painting can anchor an entire exhibition for the audience. “The impact of his experiments with changing mood and light on static surfaces can be seen in most major artistic movements of the early twentieth century” (2).

Works Cited

"Claude Monet Biography + Paintings." Biography Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.

"Claude Monet Biography." - Life, Family, Name, Death, Wife, Young, Information, Born, Time, Year. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.

"Claude Oscar Monet Biography." Claude Oscar Monet Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.

"Monet Gallery." Edouard Manet’s Influence on Monet. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.

Stuckey, Charles. Monet. The Art Institute of Chicago. 1995. Print.

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