Even a person far from the world of art at least once in his life heard the name of the French artist Claude Monet. He went from poverty and persecution to the world-renowned genius of impressionism. The most famous paintings by Claude Monet are kept in the world's best museums, art galleries and private collections. The cost of some of the artist's works reaches more than 40 million dollars.
Field of poppies at Argenteuil
"Field of Poppies at Argenteuil", written in 1873 - one of the most famous paintings by Claude Monet.
It depicts the wife and son of the artist. They walk towards the viewer through tall grass dotted with bright poppies. At the top of the hill, Monet drew two more people and connected all four figures with a path barely visible in the grass.
This is interesting: in his youth, Monet was not going to connect his future life with painting. If not for the meeting of the future artist with Eugene Boudin, who became his mentor, the world would have lost the founder of a new movement in painting.
Terrace at Sainte-Address
"Terrace at Sainte-Adresse" written in 1867. This is one of the artist's early masterpieces. The picture reflects one of the moments of the artist's life. Monet had to return home due to financial problems. The canvas depicts the artist and his father - they are sitting in armchairs. A little further on stands Cousin Monet with someone unknown.
The picture was painted at a time when the artist was not yet carried away by impressionism - it is characterized by a verified composition and a careful depiction of details.
The painting can be seen at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This is interesting: Monet started earning pocket money at the age of 14 by drawing caricatures. His drawings were very popular with the locals.
Breakfast on the grass
Perhaps one of the most famous paintings by Claude Monet is "Breakfast on the Grass". It was written in 1866 and is now in the Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin.
The history of this masterpiece is very interesting. In 1895, in Chailly, the artist began work on a large painting, but he did not like the finished version, and Manet left for Paris, leaving the canvas to the owner of the house, which the artist rented, as a pledge. Returning to Chailly, he discovered that the painting had suffered from careless handling. To save her, Manet cut the canvas into three pieces. A year later, when he returned to Chai, he painted a small copy of a large painting.
This is interesting: even before meeting with his future mentor, Eugene Boudin, Monet hated him. The reason was the artist's seascapes, which Monet considered disgusting. Boudin taught him to understand and love nature.
water lilies
"Waters", painted by the artist in 1916, became one of the most famous paintings by Claude Monet. Now the canvas is in the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.
Starting from 1905, and until the end of their lives, the main theme of painting by artists was water lilies, or water lilies. The canvas "Water Lilies" became part of a whole series of magnificent water landscapes of the artist. It is noteworthy that Monet painted pictures from memory, since the time for the flowering of water lilies is limited in time. In addition, the artist's vision was deteriorating more and more, and he could not work at the same speed.
This is interesting: One of the artist's most expensive paintings, Water Lily Pond, painted in 1919, was sold at Christie's in 2008 for $80 million.
Impression. Sunrise
The most famous paintings by Claude Monet are "Impression. Sunrise"- the famous canvas that gave the name to impressionism. The painting depicts morning in the port of Le Havre. In the foggy dawn, the boats in the harbor are barely visible. The bright orange sun rising over the port goes against the general gloomy mood of the picture. The first viewers did not appreciate the artist's canvas and considered it a work in progress.
This is interesting: after undergoing eye surgery, the artist began to see new colors. This was due to the replacement of the lens in the left eye. His paintings have changed - new, unusual colors appeared on them.
lady with umbrella
"Lady with an umbrella", painted in 1886, is another of Claude Monet's most famous paintings. It depicts Camille Donsier, the artist's first wife, and their eldest son, Jean. A woman holding an umbrella in her hand seems to feel someone's eyes on her. The painting belongs to the early period of Monet's work - this can be seen from the fact that he was more focused on the transmission of color and light, and paid less attention to the clarity of lines.
This is interesting: the artist's paintings have repeatedly become the object of attention of criminals. In 2012, among the paintings stolen from the Rotterdam Museum was Monet's "Waterloo Bridge". According to law enforcement agencies, all the stolen paintings were burned by criminals.
Mannport
The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art houses one of the best paintings by Claude Monet. "Mannport" written in 1883. It depicts the majestic chalk cliffs on the coast of Normandy, near Etretat. The artist came here for three years in a row and created about 60 canvases.
This is interesting: the artist's first known painting was a portrait of his future wife, Camille Donsier.
Water lilies
"Water lilies", created in 1905, became one of the most expensive and famous paintings by Monet. In 1915, the work of the great impressionist was sold for 54 million dollars. Prior to its purchase by an unknown collector, the painting had not been exhibited for more than 70 years, as it was in a private collection.
This is interesting: a new trend in art, impressionism, got its name from the painting by Claude Monet “Impression. Rising Sun". It is noteworthy that the artist came up with a title for the work at the last moment, preparing the painting for the first exhibition of the Impressionists.
Lady with an umbrella turned to the left
Painted in 1866 "Lady with Umbrella Turning Left" one of the most famous paintings by Claude Monet. The painting depicts the artist's adopted daughter Susanna. The canvas is distinguished by an energetic manner of writing, the woman depicted on it has a spectacular pose.
This is interesting: Most of Monet's paintings depict his wife and model Camille Donsier. She died at the age of 32, presumably due to tuberculosis.
Women in the garden
One of the most famous works of Claude Monet is the painting "Women in the Garden" written in 1866. The canvas is notable for its large size, and the artist had to work with it by digging a hole in the garden and lowering the canvas into it. It is noteworthy that the only model for the four women depicted in the picture was Camilla, Monet's future wife.
This is interesting: Monet is one of the three most expensive artists in the world.
Oscar Claude Monet (1840-1926) is one of the most prominent representatives of French (and therefore world) impressionism, co-founder and theorist of this trend, who remained faithful to him until the end of his life. Monet's pictorial style, which later became classic for Impressionism, was characterized by writing with separate strokes of pure color, which made it possible to create rich lighting effects and convey the features of the light-air environment.
BIOGRAPHY OF CLAUD MONET
Claude Oscar Monet was born on February 14, 1840 in Paris. When the boy was five years old, the family went to Normandy, to Le Havre. Contrary to his father's desire to become a grocer, Claude had a passion for painting from a young age and enjoyed drawing caricatures. On the sunny beaches of France, Claude Monet met Eugene Boudin, a famous landscape painter and one of the forerunners of impressionism. Boudin showed the young Monet some of the techniques of painting from nature. In 1860, Claude Monet was called up for military service and left for Algeria, but he served a little less than two years out of the prescribed seven-year term: he fell ill with typhus, which helped the artist to demobilize.
Monet entered the university at the Faculty of Arts, but became disillusioned with the approach to painting present there. After leaving school, he entered the painting studio, which was organized by Charles Gleyre. There he makes acquaintance with Renoir, Frederic Bazille and Alfred Sisley. They were practically peers, held similar views on painting and became the basis of the Impressionist painters. At the Academy of Suissa, Claude Monet met Pissarro and Cezanne. A significant role in the work of Claude Monet was his work in Bougival, where he created the tavern "La Grenouillere" together with Auguste Renoir. The paintings created by these artists marked the birth of a new artistic direction - impressionism.
THE CREATIVITY OF CLAUD MONET
In 1866, Claude Monet creates a portrait of Camille Donsier. Later, Camilla became the wife of the artist, they had a son, Jean.
The first significant work was for Claude Monet "Breakfast on the Grass" (1865-1866), written by him after the painting of the same name by Edouard Manet. The work itself has not reached us: the artist paid her off the debt for living in the village of Shayi, in the vicinity of which he worked. The plot of the picture is simple: on the edge of a green forest there are several men and smartly dressed women. The feeling of air movement is enhanced by the texture of the canvas: it is no longer smooth, but consists of individual spots-strokes. Having finished "Breakfast on the Grass", Claude perfects the method he discovered in various studies that he creates in the "Froggy" - a favorite vacation spot of the Parisians of that period. During the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), Monet lives in London, where he met Durand-Ruel. In England, he got acquainted with the works of John Constable and William Turner.
Portrait of Camille Doncieux Breakfast on the Grass Frog
The return from England will mark one of the most fruitful periods of Claude Monet's work. He writes his best paintings - “Field of poppies at Argenteuil”, “Boulevard des Capucines”, “Lilacs in the sun”, “Impression. Sunrise". In 1874, these paintings were shown at the exhibition at the "Anonymous Society of Painters, Artists and Engravers", the organizer and leader of this was Claude Monet. After this exhibition, by the way, named after Monet's painting “Impression. Sunrise", the nickname "impressionists" (from the French impression - impression) "stuck" to the artists. These were the golden years of the heyday of impressionism. Monet participated in many exhibitions. However, the works of Claude Monet are practically not sold. Driven by poverty, occasionally interrupted by sold paintings, Claude Monet lives where the wallet allows: in Argenteuil, in Vetheuil, in Poissy and the rest of his life in Giverny.
In the works of that period, the perception of the integrity of what is happening around momentary events is clearly visible.
Having settled in Argenteuil, Claude Monet writes with passion to the Seine, the surroundings, bridges, sailboats. In the end, he builds a boat and sails in it to Rouen and there, terribly amazed by what he saw, depicts in sketches the surroundings of the city and ships entering the harbor (“Argenteuil”, “Sailboat in Argenteuil”). In 1877, a series of paintings appeared from under the brush of Claude Monet (they represent the Saint-Lazare train station), which marked a new stage in the work of the great artist: the transition from the general concept of the sketch to the analytical approach to the depicted (“Saint-Lazare Station”).
Argenteuil Sailing boat in Argenteuil Gare Saint-Lazare
The change in the artist's painting style is accompanied by changes in his life. His wife Camille is seriously ill. With the birth of a second child, the poverty in which the family lives increases.
In 1879, his first wife, Camilla, died of tuberculosis. In 1892, Claude Monet marries for the second time, Alice Hoschede. Previously, prior to this, Alice ran the household and raised the children from Claude's first marriage. In 1883, Claude Monet and his wife moved to Giverny, located near Paris. Alice died in 1911, but Claude Monet had to deal with the death of his eldest son Jean in 1914 as well.
In the late 80s, his art increasingly attracted the public and critics. Recognition brings material success. Soon the financial affairs of Claude Monet improved so much that he was able to buy a house in Giverny, where he lived until the end of his days. During this period, the artist is completely focused on working on a series of landscapes, in which he puts the finest lighting effects "at the edge of the corner." He begins to relate to color differently, and the plots of his paintings also change. All Monet's attention is focused on the expressiveness of the amazing color scheme of the brushstroke in isolation from subject correlation. The desire for decorativeness is intensifying, which ultimately resulted in the creation of panel paintings. In place of simple plot paintings of 1860-1870, more complex ones come, rich in all kinds of associative connections (“Rocks in Belle-Ile”, “Poplars”).
Irises at Giverny Weeping willows White water lilies
Claude Monet is interested in serial compositions: Haystacks, Rouen Cathedral, views of London. In them, following the impressionistic manner, Claude Monet conveys the unequal degree of illumination of objects in different weather, at different times of the day and night, using a surprisingly diverse palette of tones. A series of paintings allow you to create a variety of decorative compositions, as if developing in time and space due to the emerging associative links. In Giverny, Claude Monet spends the lion's share of his time in the garden, engaged in its artistic organization. This fantastic work led to a change from the ordinary world inhabited by living people to the mysterious, fantastic world of water and aquatic plants (“Irises at Giverny”, “Weeping Willows”). Therefore, it is no coincidence that in the most famous series of his last panels, views of various ponds with water lilies floating in them (“White Water Lilies”) are presented.
The term "Impressionism" appeared thanks to Monet's painting "Impression. The Rising Sun”, which was exhibited at the first major exhibition of the Impressionists, in the studio of the photographer Nadar in the spring of 1874, and was called the “Rebel Exhibition”. In total, the exhibition featured 165 works by thirty artists. It is worth noting that at that time the still lifes and landscapes of Monet and his associates were accused of rebellious moods, immorality and failure. Scourge of the exhibition, the little-known journalist Louis Leroy, in his article in the magazine "Le Charivari", dismissively called the artists "impressionists". From the challenge, the artists accepted this epithet. Over time, it has lost its original negative meaning.
Interestingly, the best work of impressionism in painting is also considered a painting by Claude Monet. And this despite the fact that by the time the artist began to paint the famous "Water Lilies", he was already losing his sight.
If you look closely at the women in the paintings of Claude Monet, there will definitely be Camille Domcus, his favorite model and wife. She posed for him for many canvases, including such well-known ones as "The Lady in Green", "Women in the Garden", "Madame Monet with her son", "Portrait of Claude Monet's wife on the sofa." Madame Monet gave birth to two sons to the artist (the first child even before the official marriage). However, the birth of her second child weakened her health, and soon after the second birth, she died. Claude Monet painted a posthumous portrait of his wife.
The painting "Pond with water lilies" or, as this canvas is also called - "Pond with water lilies", painted by Monet in 1919, is the most expensive painting by this master. In 2008, at Christie`s auction in London, this painting was sold for fabulous money - $ 80 million. Today, The Water Lily Pond ranks ninth in the ranking of the most expensive paintings in the world sold at auction. It is not known who bought this painting and where it is now. As a rule, private collectors, acquiring such works, prefer to remain anonymous.
Famous quotes by Claude Monet:
- Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it was necessary when you just need to love.
- Anyone who claims to have finished the canvas is terribly arrogant.
- My work is always better when I'm alone and follow my own impressions. Color is my one-day obsession, joy and suffering.
- My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.
- To draw the sea really well, you have to look at it every hour, every day in the same place, so you can understand how you should work in that particular place, which is why I work on the same subjects over and over and over again. over and over, four or even six times.
- Try to forget about what you see in front of you, about a tree, a house, a field, anything. Just think that there is a small blue square here, an oblong pink figure there, and continue until you have a naive impression of the picture that is in front of your eyes.
- I only think about my painting, and if I had to leave it, I think I would go crazy.
Claude Monet is in the top 3 most expensive artists in the world
Claude Monet, according to the results of open auctions, until 2013 occupies the third line in the ranking of the most expensive artists in the world. In total, 208 of his works were sold at auction for a total of $ 1,622.200 million. The average cost of one Monet painting is $ 7.799 million. The most expensive Monet paintings are:
- Water Lilies (1905) - $43 million
- Railway Bridge at Argenteuil (1873) - $41 million
- Water Lilies (1904) - $36 million
- "Waterloo Bridge. Cloudy "(1904) - $ 35 million.
- Path to the Pond (1900) — $32 million
- Water Lily Pond (1917) - $24 million
- Poplars (1891) — $22 million
- "Houses of Parliament. Sunlight in the Fog (1904) — $20 million
- Parliament, Sunset (1904) - $14 million
Today, the artist's works are "scattered" around the world. The largest countries-owners of Monet's paintings are Russia, the USA and Great Britain. However, you can find the artist's paintings in many other museums, both in Europe and abroad. Several paintings by Claude Monet are even in museums in New Zealand. A significant part of the artist's works belongs to private collections, therefore these paintings are closed to the general public. Only sometimes once acquired works are again returned from the hands of collectors to museums or end up at auctions.
In Russia, at the Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin there are such famous paintings as "Lilac in the Sun" in 1873 and "Breakfast on the Grass" in 1866. The painting "Parliament, Fog Effect" is in St. Petersburg in the Hermitage. Several works by Claude Monet are kept in Paris at the Musée d'Orsay. Many works are in the United States, in the "Metropolitan Museum" of New York, in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, as well as in the Museum of Art, located in Philadelphia. In London, Monet's paintings are exhibited at the National Gallery.
Paintings by Claude Monet have repeatedly become objects of desire for criminals. A fact is known when the thief of Monet’s painting “The Beach at Pourville”, which was exhibited at the National Museum of Poland, laughed at the employees by cutting out the famous masterpiece from the frame, and inserted an inferior reproduction instead. We noticed the substitution on September 19, and when exactly the theft occurred, it remained unknown. The culprit turned out to be a 41-year-old man, and the stolen painting was found in his house.
In October 2012, the Kunstel Museum in Rotterdam was robbed. 7 masterpieces were stolen, among which was the famous "Waterloo Bridge" by Claude Monet. This robbery was the largest in 20 years. After an investigation, experts suspect that the stolen paintings may have been burned.
Beach at Pourville Waterloo Bridge Poppy Field
Claude Monet was born 173 years ago, his paintings are on the crest of popularity today, and especially ardent and talented fans of impressionism dedicate their creations to him. An example of this is the installation "Poppy Field" by Claude Cormier, inspired by the paintings of Claude Monet.
A crater on Mercury is named after Monet.
The English writer Eva Figes in her novel The Light describes one day in the life of Claude Monet - from dawn to dusk.
The restaurant that appears in the TV series "Kitchen" is called "Claude Monet" (Claude Monet) - this is the current Moscow restaurant "Champagne Life".
In the movie Titanic (1997) we can also see Monet's painting "Water Lilies".
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- I. K. Monet // Album. - L., 1969.
- Georgievskaya E. B. K. Monet // Album - 2nd ed. - M., 1974.
- Bohemian K. G. K. Monet. - M., 1984.
- Rewald J. History of Impressionism. - M., 1994.
- Kulakov V. A. Claude Monet [Album]. - M., 1989.
- Thailandier I. Claude Monet [Album]. - M., 1995.
- Cit.: Letters, trans. from French // foreword. and approx. N. V. Yavorskaya, in the book: Masters of Art about Art, vol. 5, book. 1. - M., 1969.
- Reuterswerd O. Claude Monet, [transl. from Swedish] - M., 1965.
- Hoschedé J.P. Claude Monet, ce mal connu, v. 1-2, Gen., 1960.
- Forge A. Monet. Chicago, 1995.
- Wildenstein D. Claude Monet.Claude Monet. Koeln: 2007. Tashen GmbH.
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Oscar Claude Monet was born in Paris on November 14, 1840, but at the age of 5 he moved to Le Havre, where his father worked as a grocer and ship purveyor. Monet's talent first manifested itself in adolescence. It all started with caricatures of prominent residents of Le Havre. Prominent citizens liked their own playful portraits. The drawings were sold at a local art salon for 20 francs each.
In the same salon, paintings by local artist Eugene Boudin were sold. He was a passionate plein air lover, which was unusual in those days. The young man also became interested in working in the open air. He began to paint in the open air, because it gave his works a sense of the moment, in addition, he was interested in natural light.
The number of orders increased, and soon Monet began to earn so much money that he had the idea to become a real landscape painter, one who had the skill and talent to capture iridescent, changeable views around.
However, serious difficulties had to be overcome first. The path to success in the art world lay through an exhibition of work in the famous Parisian Salon - the most prestigious art exhibition in the world. Everything was controlled by the Academy of Painting and Culture, founded in 1795 by a group of Freemasons. To get there, one had to pass an exam, which was evaluated by the professors of the academy. These same people selected works for the Paris Salon. Having achieved success in the salon, the artist, on the recommendation of academicians, received a prestigious state order. Having completed several serious orders, a person became a member of the academy and received the right to teach. So the outdated process was repeated. The Impressionists opposed this. In Paris, there are many art studios, whose goal is to get rid of the dominance of the salon. In 1873 they opened their alternative exhibition.
"Impression. Sunrise" 1873
The painting depicts a foggy dawn in the harbour. Against the background of clouds in a dense haze is a bright orange sun, the boats do not have a clear outline.
The audience, however, failed to understand either the technique of performance or the chosen range of colors. The picture was regarded not as revolutionary, but as ridiculous. The audience wondered why the author exhibited an unfinished work. The critic Louis Leroy used the word "Impressionists" in a pejorative sense. So unintentionally, he gave the name to the whole direction. By the time of the eighth exhibition in 1886, the term had become generally accepted.
"Bridge at Argenteuil" 1874
The painting "The Bridge at Argenteuil" dates from 1974. It depicts one of the suburbs of Paris, where Monet lived for a short time. Life in the suburbs developed not only because of the high cost in the city, but also due to the culture of that time. People fled here from the tension and bustle of the city of Paris to unwind. This picture shows how fascinating it was. Monet painted in the open air, in the open air. This is the pinnacle of the development of impressionism. The artist does not seek to show a specific vessel. The color of the picture is very rich. The artist uses those colors that are difficult to see in academic landscapes, they are usually muted, mixed. Here the colors are light, bright and match in the foreground and background. This smoothing technique looked quite radical in the 1870s. Free, as if careless brush strokes reveal the similarity of the picture with the sketch and give it some kind of incompleteness.
Gare Saint-Lazare 1877
Monet lived in Argenteuil, one of the suburbs of Paris. This picture became a vivid reflection of everything new and modern, industry, but it was very radical for that time. Everyone is accustomed to the images of water lilies and rural landscapes in the works of Monet. The image of a coal-fired steam locomotive was bold. However, even before Monet settled in Argenteuil and painted landscapes, he sometimes depicted the details of modern life.
The composition of the painting is not too different from the landscapes in the traditional style. The image is extremely flat, focusing on the surface and on the paint. The locomotive enters the station through huge iron structures. The steam above him envelops the locomotive, this iron mask, and this is the whole Monet, his desire to concentrate on the play of light and color.
Monet, unlike academic artists, does not think about creating a certain angle, a line of perspective, over giving integrity to the subject. The objects do not have clear outlines, the models are almost abstract.
"Walk to the Cliff at Pourville" 1882
The action takes place in a seaside resort in northwestern France. Two women are walking in nature. The artist gives a sense of spontaneity, which is felt in the brush strokes. Through the image of the cliff, he conveys the mood of a magnificent day. The cliff is in deep shadow, which creates a sharp contrast. The picture seems spontaneous, but it was carefully thought out and planned. The painting consists of several layers of paint. Monet applies new layers of paint to the still wet previous ones.
The characters in the picture enjoy a refreshing walk on the cliffs. A picturesque landscape opens before them: cliffs, sea, sky with floating clouds. This picture shows the modern world through the eyes of a person who belonged to the middle layer, capturing a segment of free time.
Cycle "Rouen Cathedral" 1890s.
The building is located an hour north of Paris. Monet painted 30 paintings with his image. During the period from late winter to early spring for two years in 1892 and 1893, Monet rented a studio located directly opposite the cathedral and was able to convey various effects of light. He painted several paintings at once and in each he conveyed different moments depending on the time of day and lighting. The artist returned to the canvases he had begun in the new weather. On his return to Paris, he completed the paintings in his studio. They are massive, they have thick layers of paint, Monet painted them for a long time. He was always interested in capturing the moment, but in these works it becomes the main theme. The medieval cathedral had a religious historical significance. Massiveness and strength are inherent in his image, but in Monet's version these are filigree forms, there is no feeling of heavy three-dimensionality.
Claude Monet is one of the famous and popular artists in the history of world art. This painter is the founder and a prominent representative of the new direction of the early 20th century - impressionism. Today, Monet's paintings are close and understandable to every educated person and art lover, with the names of which and their brief description we will have to get acquainted.
Born in Paris in 1840, Claude Monet moved to Normandy 5 years later. From childhood, the young man showed a craving for drawing, but chose the genre of caricature.
At the age of 17, Monet met Eugene Boudin, who taught him the art of landscape sketching. Before meeting him, drawing from nature, Claude Monet did not consider seascapes worthwhile and even treated them with contempt. 1859 - the year of the return of the young artist to his homeland, to Paris. There he continued to paint in the studio of poor artists.
The turning point in the fate and work of Monet is considered to be admission to the Faculty of Arts at the University of Paris. There he met O. Renoir, A. Sisley and F. Basil - talented young artists, with whom he was destined to change the history of world painting.
How did the movement "impressionism" appear?
Claude Monet is gradually trying to change the traditional way of drawing from life, using either new lighting solutions or changing the viewing angle and position of the artist when painting. Preferring plein air to studio work, he seeks beauty in the world around him, trying to capture the moment and his perception of what he saw.
One of the main differences of the emerging Impressionism is the new work with shadow and color. Monet chose the coloristic content of the paintings that he sees and feels at a certain point in time. By painting the shadows light, and not black, like his predecessors, he filled his canvases with inner light.
Constant poverty and need in the 70s - 80s, the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War forced him to move to England. Here Monet meets the merchant Paul Durand-Ruel, who buys his paintings. This made it possible, upon returning to his homeland, to purchase a small house in Argenteuil.
The official starting point of the direction of "impressionism" is considered to be 1874, when, with the light hand of one of the critics, the picture was dubbed "impression, impressionism" - impressionnisme. In 1883, Claude Monet moved with his family to Giverny, where he could already afford to buy a house with land and a garden with the accumulated money. In the same small village, in 1926, he was destined to end his earthly journey.
Monet had vision problems from a young age, and in 1912 he even had the lens of one eye removed. It is believed that this disease contributed to the artist's natural talent to see and reflect unusual colors and shades in nature.
The popularity of Monet today cannot be overestimated: to this day he is one of the three most expensive artists in the world.
- One of the most famous and early works of Claude Monet is the painting “Women in the Garden”, created in 1866. To write it, he dug a trench in order to better choose the angle, set the easel correctly and stand up himself. The plot of the picture is simple: four young ladies stroll through the summer garden, picking flowers and having a nice conversation. One of them - a young model Camille Donsier - later became Monet's wife.
- 1866 was also the time of writing the painting "Lady with an umbrella, turned to the left." The object of the image was a young girl, Monet's adopted daughter Suzanne. The artist looks at the model from the bottom up, capturing, in addition to the girl's figure, close-up grass and flowers and a large piece of the sky. One of the main characters of the picture is the wind, which controls the movement of objects, creating a sense of energy and movement of the plot.
- The painting "Water Lilies" in 1905, after its purchase by an unknown art lover, was hidden from prying eyes for more than 70 years. It depicts a pond, lilies in it and clouds reflected in the surface of the water. It is believed that the artist copied this story from a reservoir in Giverny. This canvas was destined to become the most expensive at the London auction: it was estimated at 54 million dollars.
- "Mannport" (1883) is now in New York, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The subject of this picture is the rocks of Normandy. Monet often traveled to this country, creating more than 60 paintings about its powerful and harsh nature.
- The painting Lady with an Umbrella (1886) depicts Monet's wife Camille Donsier. The canvas is attributed to the early period of creativity: the lines are blurred and inaccurate, the main emphasis is on the colors and feelings of the artist himself.
- The famous canvas that gave the name to the whole direction of “impressionism” is “Impression. Sunrise" rarely leaves anyone indifferent. The port of Le Havre, early morning, boats on the surface of the water, barely visible in the morning fog, gloomy and dark colors with a bright sun contrasting against their background - the picture was created to turn the idea of the technique and purpose of painting. However, the first viewers reacted coolly to innovation, not appreciating its hidden strength and prospects.
- Interesting, from the point of view of creating a plot, is the painting "Breakfast on the Grass" of 1866. The very style of the canvas is not characteristic of Monet's impressionistic style of writing. This is a picture of a transition, a search for oneself. The ideological inspiration was Edouard Manet (do not confuse these different works of art), who created a painting of the same name a few years earlier. It caused a strong reaction and scandal because of the realistically depicted naked women on it. Claude Monet was delighted with this picture. He decided to repeat the success of this canvas and shock the public. At the moment, what we see in the picture is one of three parts of a huge canvas, which remained unfinished, although it was exhibited at the Paris Salon.
- The Water Lilies of 1916 are a continuation of the theme of water and water lines in the work of Monet and part of a series of water landscapes. It has an interesting compositional solution: the plot seems to be snatched from a huge, endless picture. The artist trimmed large central flowers to show the infinity of natural space. Thanks to the bright colors and unusual composition, it would seem that an ordinary pond captivates the viewer.
- “Terrace at Sainte-Adresse” is one of the artist’s early creations, created in 1867. The painting depicts a summer terrace with men sitting in armchairs and a girl standing at the railing with her companion. Strict lines, lack of blur and compositional solution are not characteristic of the impressionist style.
- “Field of poppies at Argenteuil”, 1873. The heroes of the picture are the son and wife of the artist. They make their way through tall grass and bright red poppies. In the background, the figures of two more are visible, as well as a small white house in the distance.
Art critics came to the conclusion that in the last years of his life the artist went beyond impressionism, anticipating further changes in painting and outlining perspectives. Having entered the history of world art and having gained many supporters and followers, Monet's paintings, with the names and a brief description of which we have become acquainted, remain not only in the memory of the audience, but also in their hearts, causing real and some longing for the outgoing and momentary beauty of this world.
