04 Nov Claude Monet in Front of His House at Giverny

 

Клод Моне /14.11.1840-05.12.1926/

 

 

Today’s article is dedicated to one of my favourite artists - Claude Monet. Monet and many other great Impressionists were a major factor in the development of a number of other artists, especially in terms of paint and brush.

Claude Monet in Front of His House at Giverny, 1921

Just like most of the artists, when I took the brush, I was impressed by the details and I tried to paint everything in fine detail. I realised later on that this meticulous approach could hamper the creation of a really fascinating painting. When I started examining the works of Monet and many other Impressionists, I found out that using fewer details in the painting allows you to express refine beauty much better and also lets your imagination do part of the work.

 

 

Monet’s passion for working “en plein air” was expressed through a famous story concerning one of his first really ambitious projects – his large painting Women in the Garden (1866 – 1867) as well as in a big number of other works.1866 – 1867) и голяма поредица негови картини.

Many of Monet’s works are characterised by mixed short strokes of the brush. He was both strongly criticised and highly praised for this technique.

В резултат на това често е трудно да се открие смисъла на картините, когато ги погледнете отблизо – те се появяват като нищо повече от бъркотия на размазани цветове. Но когато отстъпите, всичко изглежда се изяснява

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the close-up of the Water Lilies painting (picture 2), you can see the accumulation of different colours – green, blue and violet. It also shows how Monet used a thicker layer of paint for the red and yellow flowers and how this approach enhances the depth and the shape of the painting.

 

 

 

In the Rock in Dieppe painting, Monet used short, overwhelming stokes of various colours to give the illusion of detail.

He used stronger colours and higher contrast for the foreground compared with the background. This enhances the feeling of depth in the painting. The fences on the cliff help us notice the structure of the land. We can see the relatively cool colours used for the shadows that contrast against the warm lights.

It is all a game of colours, contrasts and iridescence. The edge that separates the sea and the sky is almost completely lost. The small and dark accents used for the boats in the distance help distinguish the sea from the sky. This reveals the mastership and illusion we can all draw on.