When I was a little girl, I remember my parents had art books lying around our house. We had books on Art History, ancient Greek & Roman Art, oil painting, and the Renaissance. Out of our entire collection, my favorite book was the one on Impressionism. This book had paintings by Monet, Manet, Renoir, and Degas, among more. I had so many favorite paintings in this book, but a major highlight to me was the work by Monet.
I remember poring over the pages, studying the beautiful reflections in his Waterlilies, and the paint strokes in his Woman with a Parasol. The strokes felt so expressive; they were ethereal and peaceful.
Later, as I learned more about Monet, I became inspired by the way he studied light. Monet was obsessed with light.
One example of his studies of and obsession of light lie in his paintings of the Rouen Cathedral. Monet would come at 7 in the morning, and would sit in front of the cathedral until 6 or 7 in the evening. He would line up multiple canvases, and begin painting on the first canvas. As the light changed throughout the day, he would move to the next canvas, and then the next, until the evening came, studying how the light changed and touched the beautiful building.
Here are some of his series of paintings, showing the different light and colors throughout the day and months.
At the time, this process he was going through was remarkable! His paintings, along with others by his colleagues, started the Impressionism art movement – one of the most loved today.
Here are some of my favorite paintings by Monet:
One of the best moments of my life was seeing his Waterlilies in the Musée de l’Orangerie.
If you ever have the chance to go, you really must! It’s such a peaceful, beautiful place.
I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post! Stay tuned to learn more about talented, inspiring artists & photographers!
