Monday 1 August 2011

But is it Art?.........................August.

So we are now onto month three of this series about artists and I am enjoying touching base with some of my favourite artists and their works again. Today I thought I would go with Monet.
If you're in the UK you might have been glued to the new series on Impressionist painters on Saturday nights on BBC2......For me it has been just like listening to my Study of Art teacher all over again.

Anyway onto Monet probably one of the most famous Impressionist painters and most recognised in the world. Even if you don't know who he is you will probably have seen his art..........................





............................we recognise them as by an artist, some may say Impressionist, some may say Monet but he is there in everday life for us to see.
Monet was raised  in the  seaside town of Le Havre the son of a grocer. As a young man he would paint outside what he saw on the beaches. He was nurtured by other artists in the town and eventually moved to Paris. After a period in the Army, Monet eventually entered the art training of Charles Gleyre whose other students included Renoir. It would be along with Renoir, Sisley and Bazille that the Impressionist school would come. Named from a painting of Monet's called ''Impression'' and the criticism of an art critic who termed the painting ''Impressionism'', these men would form a radical new movement of art. Artists would begin to paint outdoors in natural, use bolder colours, short, thick strokes of paint are used and paint laid side by side. The ability to travel with small easels and pre-made paints in tubes made it my easier for the artist to go wherever he wanted to paint.

Probably some of Monet's most famous images are his numerous (over 200) paintings of the waterlilies at his hime in Giverny. Some were orginally designed to be viewed in a circular display in a Parisian museum. The following image is taken from a recent exhibit of some the paintings together in New York.



The following 2 images demonstrate his other works involving his key inspiration in his latter years.



For me it is the waterlilies that mean Monet. They are such beautiful, vibrant pictures, each unique but also telling a story of how his garden and art developed. He must have loved both so much to paint them continuously at the end of his life.
One day I want to go to his garden's in Giverny to explore the ponds and waterlilies. The little bridge has had to be replaced as it rotted, but I can still imagine this wonderful artist standing there at his easel painting what he could see, probably with great difficulty towards the end of his life when he had cataracts. For someone who was inspired by the world he could see it must have been a tragedy for him to lose his eyesight.







If you want to find out more about Monet and his life and garden, then go here for further information.

Hope you have enjoyed this months Artist.

8 comments:

  1. I can just imagine sitting in front of that exhibit in NY - wow, what a great way to view the pictures!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I did enjoy it. Monet suffered from overkill a bit when his pictures appeared on cards all over the place a few years ago I think. You have renewed my interst

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the post today. I think impressionists are often the easiest way for people to fall in love with art and that's why they're so popular. I have been lucky to see the New York monet exhibit, as well as his display at the Orangerie in Paris.
    If you're looking for other subjects, I'm currently in love with Joan Mirot.
    rinda

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'll add him to my list.
    jo xxx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi - what a lovely interesting blog post - I really like Monet and would dearly love to visit the gardens at Giverny one day. Love the idea of being surrounded by a circle of his paintings as in the NY exhibition - makes you realise just how BIG the paintings were - we're so used to them being postcard sized!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jo,Ive been trying to conttact you about wednesday! ive only got steam powered internet and no pictures etc... very slow... cant get at my emails and no reply when i rang you. i sent you a text but dont know if you got it. we will be there at 12pm as you suggested! hope to see you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lovely to revisit him! It's his Haystack series that I first saw in real life ...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Loved seeing some of his work for real and not just in a book when we were at the National Gallery in London a couple of years ago.

    ReplyDelete

Hello and thank you so much for stopping by. It is always a pleasure to read the comments I receive and to meet new friends. I try and reply to comments on friend's blogs as much as possible. I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog and look forward to seeing you here again soon. Love Jo xxx