Water Lillies by Claude Monet - Essay Example

Task Water lilies by Claude Monet Introduction Claude Monet was a vital personality in the development of the French Impressionist style and movement in the nineteenth century. He was inspired by nature making him paint works mostly dwelling on the nature and landscapes. The movement developed a very different style of painting that sought to bring out the artist’s ability to perceive the natural world around them. Monet moved to buy an island ile aux Orties in 1883 where he found inspiration to capture paintings of light and different weather patterns that were important to his newfound style of painting (Mancoff).

The impressionist movement developed a style that involved the strong use of color to evoke emotions with minimal use of lines. One of the qualities of the impressionist painters is that it omitted the inclusion of black in their work. Monet himself achieved this effect by combining several shades of different colors but black. He often sought to capture the changing light effects that an object experienced when the day progressed from the morning until dawn. He was so keen on filling in the detail that all the subjects had to be captured to his personal satisfaction.

His medium for painting was canvas that was light in color and, this in turn, helped him achieve the bright color effect that he had desired to implement in his works. On close inspection of some of his works, it is evident that he mixed the paints directly on to the canvas using lighter layers of paint as he worked up to allow the shining effect. He achieved bold texture by using vibrant brush strokes that were either from a thin or thick brush working from the darker colors to the lighter ones.

The natural world and the effect of sunlight was the basis for the impressionist’s style of painting. My paper picked on Claude Monet’s contribution to the impressionism movement through his painting of the water lilies. Water lilies by Claude Monet Monet’s style was always to depict the sunlight effect as it fell on objects, including the water and the vegetation as an impressionist. He made sure to do the sunlight effect recording from time to time as he painted the same subject several times to ensure its desired expectation is met.

At around 1840-1926, saw Monet focus on one particular piece which he worked on a series of times to make it perfect. The painting is of his garden of flowers at Giveny depicting weeping mellows, water lilies and how they are reflected on the surface of the water. The reflections are depicted on several seasons under changing reflections of sunlight. The various shades of color are all compositions of when he started the work to the day he put his final stroke on the canvas. The water lilies were painted over a series of timelines in Monet’s life.

The intensity that appeared red from one of the initial version of the same painting was done at a time when he had troubles with his sight (Marmor). He eventually, through a series of strokes made this painting bluer. This painting of the Monet having difficulty in his vision was made out of pure relation with nature and the person that knew how to express it in canvas. He greatly changed the perception of artists when approaching their work in various situations that they can easily adjust to.

He had managed to create a perfectly harmonious piece out of the vision impairment that he had capturing nature at its best. The painting looks realistic and one tends to sink into this harmonious environment placing their mind in Monet’s beautiful garden. The bright use of color increases the viewer’s attention to read better the tonal variation of this masterpiece. On close inspection, he applied the color coatings starting from the darkest of shades as he moved to the much brighter ones.

The use of colors that are almost of the same shades enabled him achieve the tremendous harmony in the water Lilly painting, using complementary colors mostly blue and green. The effect to distort details further in the work enables the viewer to travel far beyond the pond as the lilies grow in detail toward the viewer’s eyes. The painting closely viewed lacks detail and precision especially when one views at the lilies. He though knew how to manipulate the brightest of colors to bring a perfect reflection of the water.

This style of painting mostly targeted an individual’s capability to perceive a painting through vision. By using vibrant colors as he avoided the use of black, and covering the dark shades over with light colors, Monet in this painting takes the viewer through his beautiful garden. Conclusion This movement was characterized by a very new concept to artists who were looking to develop their painting skills. It involved the artist captivating his audience by evoking their reaction and playing with the different light shades that nature offers to the surrounding.

Monet, an important member who innovated this great style loved to use bright colors in his pieces, exploring the concept of light and how it was reflected on water. Through one of his paintings, the water Lilly, we learn that painting is not just done in one phase but a series of procedures is involved. He painted this piece over a time line starting with the darker into lighter shades. The painting omits the use of black giving an alternative to achieve the shadows. A color overlaid on top of each other is a sure sufficient way to achieve darker shades when applying the impressionist style.

Works Cited Mancoff, Debra. Claude Monet Giverny Paintings. How stuff works.com. Web. December 7, 2011. Available at: Marmor, Micheal. Ophthalmology and Art: Simulation of Monet's Cataracts and Degas' Retinal Disease. Archives of Opthalmology. Vol.124(12).DOI 124:1764-1769. 2006