Speaking of Western art history, I don't know how much you know, from the Renaissance to contemporary art, a total of five periods have been experienced, Xiao Dai wants to share with you today, is the Impressionism born during the liberation period of art, and its founder, one of the most representative artists Claude Monet, who is known as the "father of Impressionism", has an important position in the history of Western art.
Monet was born in Paris in 1840 into a family of small traders, and his father wanted him to inherit his grocery business, but Monet developed a great interest in art. At the age of 11, he was admitted to the Le Havre Art School, showing excellent talent for painting, and in 1865 Monet officially became a painter, and by his death in 1926, he had left behind a total of 500 drawings and more than 2,000 oil paintings in his lifetime.
"Self-Portrait with a Beret", 1886
A few hundred words short, it is certainly impossible to finish his life of more than sixty years, nor can it introduce all his works one by one. Xiao Dai selected 6 of Monet's most representative works to share with everyone, and behind each one, there are secrets that many people don't know.
I. "Impression sunrise"
Painted in 1872 and depicting a port in Monet's hometown of Le Havre, this work is the most classic of all Monet's works, and can be called the founding work of Impressionism. What many people don't know is that it not only gave birth to the Impressionist style, but also inspired the movement's now-household name, "Impressionism" got its name from this work called "Impression Sunrise".
2. "Rouen Cathedral"
People are very familiar with Monet's "Water Lilies" series, knowing that he painted many water lilies, but his most representative series of works is actually "Rouen Cathedral", this group of works almost runs through Monet's entire painting career, in order to grasp the change of light and color, just the same angle of the Rouen Cathedral, Monet has painted dozens of paintings, comparable to modern photography continuous shooting.
III. "Water Lilies"
Monet's Water Lilies series is perhaps his best-known work, with a total of about 250 paintings. This water lily pond is in Monet's garden, and he uses so many works to depict different scenes, seasons, and changes in light in his garden. Monet once said: "My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece".
IV. "Haystack"
Monet was fascinated by natural light and natural light effects, as can be seen from his haystack series, only with haystack as the theme of oil painting, he painted as many as 34 paintings, from different angles, different seasons, different environments, monotonous haystacks in Monet's pen has a brilliant color, so that the ordinary scene has become art. In addition, the artist also presented 25 studies on the aesthetic effects of sunlight on the cultivation of wheat, oats and barley.
V. "The Woman Holding the Parasol"
Created in 1875, the woman is Monet's woman and his youngest son, and the family lived in Argenteuil from 1872 to 1878. Vivid brushstrokes and vibrant compositions depict the wife's wind-blown skirt, and the surrounding flowers and grass are embellished with light and shadow. No wonder Monet has always emphasized: "All my achievements come from nature, which is the source of uninspired".