Claude Monet

Background and Early Stages of Monet

Claude Monet was a part of the select few who were the founding members of the French Impressionism time. In addition, he continued to represent this distinctive genre throughout his artistic career. The point which was the cause of Impressionism becoming popular was when Monet painted the impression titled: Sunrise. Although he was mainly focused on landscapes, truthfully he was committed to the technique referred to as plein-air method of painting. Throughout the duration of his artistic career, he explored the properties of light and use of color. The majority of Monet’s paintings are the focus of sunshine’s reflection or shadow in a variety of hues from a particular color.

Late Work

In his late age, Monet avoided featuring a man-made object or a hint of human figures. Therefore, he truly represented the impressionism theme. Prior to the switch of focus, Monet featured street scenes of the city, images of the industrial revolution era, gardens, and snapshots of people leisurely enjoying coastlines. To further a particular image, Monet explored the technique of series in art, which is when a particular image is painted in a variety of hues or light. Not only did this allow an artist to captivate the different shadows in a day, but also experiment the use of colors in combination with shadowing. To the eye Monet’s brush strokes may appear sloppy, but in reality that is a distinct technique used in impressionism. Creating this look requires the consistent effect of impasto strokes of color that build up a textural surface. Ideally, when done correctly this will create a dream like appearance to any piece of art.

Impact upon other Artists

Many artists have studied his innovated style within the realm of impressionism because they feel he is a significant source of inspiration. Although just another forgotten artist in the age of technology, Monet can still be found on a variety of objects including pizza boxes, greeting cards, or reproductions of his work.

Quotes from Claude Monet

"Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love."

"Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment."

"No one is an artist unless he carries his picture in his head before painting it, and is sure of his method and composition."