Mad about Monet Claude Monet 1840-1926

(1) Where did Monet prefer to paint and how did this reject past conventions of artmaking ? Monet liked to paint en plein air (He liked to paint outside in the open air) He liked to paint in the landscape He liked to capture the contemporary world around him He liked to paint directly and rapidly from the actual subject This broke the traditional Academic rules of how to develop a painting (the traditional conventions of artmaking at the time) Traditional approach: An artist would draw and paint many preliminary studies of the chosen subject in the studio. Many layers of under painting would be done on the canvas to develop a balanced formal composition Colour would be built up slowly with thin glazes of paint so that no brush strokes would be visible

Mad About Monet

(2) What is the Paris Salon ? (Refer to hand out sheet) Le Salon was the exhibition space of the French Art Academy (estab. 1737) Huge exhibitions were held annually The Salon exhibition was exceptionally popular during the 1800s (19thC) Hundreds of visitors would queue to get in to the openings people were injured in the rush to be first through the door Very high walls were crammed with hanging paintings and hundreds of artworks were shown reaching up to the ceiling The Salon was an exceptionally fashionable occasion The winner would be guaranteed great fame and commissions would flow from royalty, the church, government and other wealthy patrons
In 1863 the Salon committee rejected 5000 works public outcry was so strong that The Salon De Refuses was established to show these works and let the public itself judge the quality of the artworks

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(3) What were the accepted SUBJECT and STYLE for paintings in the 1860s in Paris ? The French Academy had a hierarchy of value for subject matter: Biblical, historical and mythological subjects were considered most admirable Portraiture of important people from royalty, the church, aristocracy and nobility Still life, landscape and genre (every day life subjects) were considered lowly or inferior The Style: the style followed the rules laid down by the French Academy Tonal, sculptural forms, realism, naturalism, detailed treatment of surfaces Often dramatic subjects which told of mans struggle against the forces of nature - Romantic subjects dealing with the senses, feelings and emotions

Mad about Monet

(4) What was the SUBJECT MATTER for Monets paintings and how did this reject past conventions ? Monet painted the Modern world, the contemporary world of Paris, France (19thC) He painted seasonal landscapes, the changing light and surfaces in the natural world He painted ordinary people in every day life (Genre), people at leisure ( dancing, boating, picnicing etc)

The Academy did not approve of the contemporary world, nor the seasonal landscapes Monet liked to paint, considered not worthy

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(5)How did Monets paintings reflect the Modern world ? Monet was interested in Modern life subjects he painted railway stations, city streets with tall buildings, gas lighting, traffic, genre and leisure subjects He was interested in photography and the way a camera could capture a moment in time, unusual angles and casual (sometimes cut off) compositions or no horizon. His compositions used new, bright synthetic paint colours and with the invention of the zinc paint tube, he was able to paint anywhere. He utilized CHEVREULS colour theory to gain the brightest effects with colour He was interested in the art and culture of Japan which had a completely different tradition to Western art (wood block prints, use of flat colour and different perspective)

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(6) Where did the word IMPRESSIONISM come from and what does it refer to now ? In 1874, a group of avant-garde artists (whose work had been rejected by Le Salon) organised an independent exhibition They avoided a label or official name but a critic, on seeing the exhibition, dubbed the group Impressionists a derogatory term for the unfinished look of the artworks and Monets painting Impression Sunrise
Now, Impressionism refers to the beginning of Modern art and the journey towards abstraction in the 20th C

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(7) What were the most important things for Monet to capture in his painting, that is, what was his INTENTION for his painting ? Monets intention was to capture the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere on the world around him He wanted to paint modern life, capturing a snapshot of his world like a camera He often painted in series (many versions of the same scene) to catch the changing light he saw during the day and seasons of the year His intention was not to paint a detailed picture but a general impression of the scene as he saw it at that moment

Mad about Monet

(8) Name and describe some of the places that Monet painted. Why do you think he chose those places ? Monet liked to paint nature : the beach and surf, constantly changing with the tides weather and seasons the countryside near his home, poppy fields, haystacks etc.. always changing colours due to the seasons and weather His garden at Giverny the garden changed every day, from morning to evening, summer to winter sunny to rainy. The blooms and deciduous trees changed with the seasons as did the water lily pond in his Japanese garden He was particularly interested in the effect of light and colour on water and the landscape The natural world provided the perfect subject for his interest in changing colours and fleeting light to be captured on his canvases He wanted to capture a moment in time like a camera

Mad about Monet

(9) Describe how the surfaces of Monets paintings are different to the earlier Neo-Classical paintings( eg Oath of Horatii by David) Monet uses the broken colour technique ( individual brush strokes can easily be seen, not blended to create rich patterns of colour He used broad, obvious brush strokes Monet was not interested in the details (like David) more textural patterns of loosely applied paint (10) Describe how Monet applies paint to his canvas and why it is innovative He primed his canvas with white paint (to make his colours vivid as possible) He applied thick paint directly to the canvas, often mixing it on the canvas surface instead of the palette Often paint had a sketch like quality because her worked rapidly to catch the light and colour before it changed Monets technique changed the way people saw the world around them

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(11) Why is Monet an avant-garde artist ? Monet was avant- garde because his ideas were ahead of his time. He rejected many of the conventions of his time and chose to push the boundaries of what art could be He looked at the world around him and found a new way to interpret it He was influenced by the Modern world and his art works reflect this new world Monets art was new, different and a bit of a threat to the conventional thinking of the time so it took a while for the general public the understand and accept what he was trying to do