Inspirations ~ Claude Monet

Since I added the lists of my favourite photographers and artists on the sidebar, I thought I'd start writing some posts about their work, to share some of my inspirations with you.

Claude Monet was one of the first artists I became interested in. I don't know if that's because in Art A-level everyone looks at the work of the Impressionists. I like the movement as a whole, the idea of giving the impression of the scene instead of copying it painstakingly.

I love the softness of most of Monet's work. Also the scenes he depicts of enjoying tea parties outdoors, elegant ladies strolling in the park and serene boating vistas.

Water Lily Pond 1900

 I especially love his paintings of his beloved garden at Giverny. Just like Monet I am a keen gardener and a lot of my photos of plants and butterflies are taken in my own back garden

 Monet's garden was carefully laid out to his designs, even the shapes and colours of the plants were coordinated. It became a work of art itself. One gardener was employed just to keep the water lilies in the compostional order that Monet wanted.

I would one day love to visit the garden and photograph it. Although I have heard you can't see much of it through the throngs of people!

Stack of Wheat (Snow Effect, Overcast Day), 1890/91

Another aspect of Monet's work that I like are his series paintings such as Rouen Cathedral and the grain stack paintings. A simple idea, taking one subject and capturing the light on it at different times of day or year. He got the idea from his favourite artist Hiroshige from Japan and his "One Hundred Views of the City of Edo".

Another project to put on my own list of to do's is to find my own subject to emulate the series paintings.


Both of these paintings can be found at The Art Institution of Chicago and content has been sourced from "Monet" by Karin Sagner-Duchting.