Claude Monet
is a well-known impressionist.
Claude Monet is one of the most well-known and representative figures in impressionism. Monet was a French painter who worked throughout the latter half of the 19th century and until his death in 1926. Monet's work is characterized by his interest in color and nature. His paintings feature the same subject at different times of day.
Impressionism
The primary characteristic of Monet's work is his commitment to impressionism its basic characteristics, such as a focus on texture, light and brushstroke. Monet's focus changed from the subject (such as a boat, landscape or person) to the way that paint works on a canvas. Monet's art seeks to capture what the eye sees and the dynamic change of landscape depending on perspective and light.
Nature
Monet's work primarily focuses on scenes in nature. Even in his early work, which featured human forms, the natural world received as much attention as the human figures. His most famous paintings, such as his haystack series and water lilies, are exclusively depictions of nature. Monet also had a lifelong interest in water, which he painted in all its forms, from turbulent rivers to the placid surface of his own lily pond.
Use of Color
Monet's paintings are distinctive in that he did not use the traditional chiaroscuro method, which creates a three-dimensional effect using shadow and light. Instead, Monet used unbroken blocks of color in unexpected ways to create vibrant, but flat landscapes. For Monet and other impressionists, color was not intrinsic to an object, but instead determined by the quality of light thrown on it. Monet also avoided distinctive lines in his painting, instead using dots and patches of color to indicate forms.
Repeating images
Monet is also well-known for his repeated paintings of the same object at different times of day, reflecting the changes of color and light. One of his best-known series is of haystacks in a field, painted throughout a day and over several days in different qualities of light. Monet also painted series' of poplar trees and the Rouen Cathedral. Toward the end of his life, Monet devoted his time completely to painting his own lily pond throughout the year.
