Le Pont de Charing Cross, 1923
Lose yourself in the endless reflections of sky and water; merge with the shimmering colors of the sunset. Your interior will be illuminated with the harmony and beauty of these elements. Time stops here.
Soleil couchant à Lavacourt, effet d’hiver, 1880
Everything melts, houses, water, sky, we can’t really tell anymore; every shade of blue is sublimated by the orange sun and all that sparkles is reflected in the Seine.
Waterlilies at Giverny, 1917
Immerse yourself in the dazzle of these reflections, ephemeral. This water and flower garden and its palette of colors were so very dear to Claude Monet. It was here he searched for “the illusion of the whole without end, of the wave without horizon and without shore”.
Here are three of Claude Monet’s masterpieces, one of the major impressionist painters.
In the middle of the 19th century, thanks to the invention of folding easels and of tubes of paint, artists began to leave their studios and paint landscapes.
With this, the painters broke away from the faithful and static reproduction of reality to depict a moment, a sensation, in front of a landscape. « To reproduce what I feel » Monet explains and he continues “My eyes were opened at last, and I really understood Nature”.
However, several long years of audacity and perseverance were needed before the impressionist movement was fully recognized and appreciated.
And you, dear Future Shaper, which new way of looking at things will you discover?
To go further:
Visit Giverny close to Paris, to discover the garden created by Monet, « My masterpiece is my garden », he said.
Sources:
« Art that changed the world » Transformative art movements and the paintings that inspired them – www.dk.com
« Le jardin de Claude Monet à Giverny » by Fabrice Moireau – Editions Gallimard