Claude Monet - Water Lily Pond essays

Claude Monet - Water Lily Pond essays Claude Monet always stood alone; his feet resounding heavily on the solid road that he was determined to follow until the very end. With tiny, dabbing brush strokes his paintings, more often than not exploded in the golden richness of the sun. With Monet a brush stroke, while imprecise, can suggest an infinity of objects that go beyond the instant and eternalize it. Born in Paris on the 14th November 1840, Claude Monet was one of the masters of the style of art known as Impressionism. The name 'Impressionism ¡ was invented as a term of abuse, hurled by a critic after seeing the Monet painting 'Impression: Sunrise ¡ at an exhibition in 1874. Yet those who practiced the style of art adopted the slur with dignity. During his life, Monet painted many series of paintings, each one based on a certain subject. One such series is the 'Japanese Bridge ¡ painted in 1899 after the death of his second wife Suzanne. Nine out of eleven paintings were given the title 'Water Lily Pond, ¡ and through out the series an idealized world emerges, an enclosed and secure paradise. Proportion of the objects in the 'Water Lily Pond ¡ relates directly to their proximity to each other. The aquatic plants that float on the top of the water in the foreground of the piece are large in comparison to those underneath the bridge, whilst the bridge arching over the pond is large, despite being towards the top of painting and thus further away. Yet the imposing size of the bridge dominates the painting regardless. In the 'Water Lily Pond, ¡ the bridge moves over the pond, lending the painting it ¡s rhythm, drawing the eyes of the viewer along the bridge and under the lake, where the shadow of the bridge lies. Rhythm is also conveyed by the use of similar colours and the textures used on the foliage. Each brush stroke placed on the canvas by Monet is part of the symphony that makes up the piece. Short, dabbing motions of his brush create the mirage of...