Claude Monet on Landscapes and Light

Monet of course was one of the founders of the impressionists, which subscribed to the doctrine of expressing one's perceptions before nature. The idea that light and the moment could define a color more accurately than the object's 'actual' color is not only genius but revolutionary. You can see the progression from solid people and objects with fairly conservative color in his early work to the famous impressionist style in his later work. He is truly a master and a founder of modern art. Here is a quote from Monet on landscapes:

“For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life - the light and the air which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value.”

-Claude Monet (1841-1895)

Here in Kansas City we have the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum, and one of the most valuable pieces in the collection is Monet's Water Lilies (<--click to go to their site and see the painting). To see it up close is truly breathtaking, it's huge (200.03 x 425.45 cm), and gives me an appreciation and understanding of the man's work I did not have before seeing it. (One of the first paintings I saw has a young artist that truly affected me).

It was originally designed to be part of a 12 painting set (3 paintings each on 4 walls of one room) but are now in various parts of the world. How great it would be to collect the works from all the museums they are in and put them into one exhibition, (that travelled to all the museums that had ownership, at least).

Just Love the Art, Don't Overanalyze

One aspect of art that started in the 19th century and became predominant in the 20th century, is that the process of creating the art can become at times, more interesting than the art itself. I do appreciate the finer points of the philosophy behind a painting, but Monet is right, the bottom-line is what you feel when you look at the piece....does it move you?

“People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it's simply necessary to love.”

-Claude Monet

As Monet points out in the preceding quote, there is definitely a lot of overthinking that goes on in the fine art world, the pretentiousness is overwhelming even. As I always say, one who can't paint, becomes a critic. Wait - ? Is that cruel of me? I am just saying, anyone can create art, and it is just as valid as the work of the supposed masters. The real questions are, is it honest? And, does it inspire love?