MONET'S POPLARS ARE STILL POPULAR

Claude Monet and Impressionism are like ham and mustard and appeared in France in the middle of the nineteenth century. Claude Monet was one of its pioneers.

Without doubt Monet has painted some of the greatest masterpieces of Impressionism ever and his works are loved by critics and the public alike. Probably his most famous image were the 'Claude Monet Lilies'. But here are some quick descriptions of 10 of his most notable paintings. A link to an official Monet site is given at the end.

(i) Bain à la Grenouillère 1869

La Grenouillère was a popular middle class boating and bathing resort in Monet's day. Monet wrote on September 25, 1869, “I do have a dream, a painting, the baths of La Grenouillère, for which I have made some bad sketches, but it is only a dream.” It was a dream which became a reality in the beautiful painting of that name.

(ii) Woman with a Parasol 1875

One of his earlier works, this painting depicts his first wife Camille Doncieux with their elder son Jean. Camille is holding a parasol or a light umbrella and it seems that she is catching a glimpse of someone looking at her

(iii) The Woman in the Green Dress 1866

This is the painting that first drew Monet to public attention It fetched Monet 800 francs, a huge amount at that time for a struggling artist. It shows his first wife Camille Doncieux in a green flowing dress of expensive fabric.

(iv) San Giorgio Maggiore 1908

Monet didn’t intend to do any painting when he visited Venice in 1908 as it had been done many times by others. depicted by numerous artists. But during his visit he was so entranced by the sights in the city that he had to set to work at once with his paintbrushes.and he called for his painting material

(v) Poplar Series 1891

This famous series is of 24 paintings of the Poplar trees along the banks of the Epte River, a short distance upstream from Monet’s won home. A floating painting studio was moored in place to enable him to reach the location by boat. He eventual bought the trees to finish the works..

(vi) Houses of Parliament series 1900

During his stays in London in this time period, Monet painted this series whose subject is the Palace of Westminster, home of the British Parliament. All the 19 paintings of the series are of the same size and depict the same scene from the same viewpoint but show different weather conditions.

(vii) Haystacks Series 1890 -1891

Among Monet’s most notable works, the Haystacks series refers to 25 canvases that he painted between 1890 and 1892. The subjects of the paintings are haystacks in the fields near Monet’s Giverny.

(viii) Rouen Cathedral series 1892 -1893

This famous series captures the façade of Rouen Cathedral in France at different times of the day and year, displaying varying light play on the subject.

(ix) Impression, Sunrise 1872

This painting is the single piece of artwork which gave its name to the Impressionist movement and has now become the symbol of Impressionism. In that sense we can say that probably Monet was the founder of the movement. It was disliked by the critics and the term Impressionist was coined in a cynical review by Louis Leroy in which he went to the extent of saying: “Wallpaper in its embryonic state is more finished than that seascape.” But what did he know! (Editor's comment).

(x) Water Lilies (Nympheas) 1896

Monet’s series of the “Nympheas” is said to be “The Sistine Chapel of Impressionism”. The series consists of about 250 oil paintings which were painted by Monet during the last thirty years of his life. And for which he will always be remembered for.

To see Monet's art visit: http://fondation-monet.com/en/