Claude Monet. Poppies. 1773 Museum D'Orsay, Paris

"Poppies", one of the most famous works of Claude Monet, I saw in. However, then I did not consider it properly. As a fan, my eyes just ran away from all those masterpieces that are in this museum!

Later, of course, I have already examined "Poppies" properly. And I discovered that I hadn't even noticed a few interesting details in the museum. If you look at the picture more closely, you will probably have at least three questions:

1. Why are the poppies so large?
2. Why did Monet draw two almost identical pairs of figures?
3. Why didn't the artist draw the sky in the picture?

I will answer these questions in order.

1. Why are poppies so big?

Poppies are shown very large. Most of them are from the head of the child depicted. And if you take the poppies from the background and bring them closer to the figures in the foreground, then they will even be larger than the head of both the child and the woman depicted. Why is this unrealistic?

In my opinion, Monet deliberately increased the size of the poppies: so he once again preferred to convey a vivid visual impression, and not the realism of the depicted objects.

Here, by the way, one can draw a parallel with his technique of depicting water lilies in his later works.

Look for clarity at the fragments of paintings with water lilies of different years (1899-1926). The top work is the earliest (1899), the bottom is the latest (1926). Obviously, over time, the water lilies have become more abstract and less detailed.

Apparently “Poppies” are just a harbinger of the predominance of abstractionism in Monet's later paintings.

Claude Monet paintings. 1. Top left: Water lilies. 1899 d. Private collection. 2. Top right: Water lilies. 1908 d. Private collection. 3. Middle: A pond with water lilies. 1919 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 4. Below: Lilies. 1926 Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City.

2. Why are there two pairs of identical figures in the picture?

It turns out that it was also important for Monet to show movement in his painting. He achieved this in an unusual way, depicting a barely visible path on a hill among flowers, as if trodden between two pairs of figures.

At the bottom of the hill with poppies depicts wife Camilla and son Jean. Camilla is traditionally depicted with a green umbrella, just like in the painting "Woman with an Umbrella".

Upstairs on the hillock is another pair of woman and child, for whom Camilla and her son most likely also posed. Therefore, the two pairs are so similar.

Claude Monet. Poppies. Fragment. 1873 g. D'Orsay Museum, Paris.

This pair of figures on the hill is depicted, perhaps purely for the visual effect of movement, which Monet so aspired to.

3. Why didn't Monet draw the sky?

Another noteworthy point in: Notice how poorly the sky is drawn down to the bare areas of the canvas.

Claude Monet. Poppies. Fragment. 1873 g.

I can assume that the matter is in the very technique of impressionism: Monet painted pictures in a matter of hours and even minutes in order to depict the play of light and colors at a certain moment of the day. Therefore, there was not always enough time for all the elements of the landscape. Working out all the details is the lot of studio work, not outdoor work.

By the way, the painting "Poppies" was also exhibited at the first exhibition of the Impressionists in 1874, about which I wrote in more detail in the article

Impressionism appeared in France in the 1860s and turned the traditional understanding of painting upside down. Looking at the sunny, breathing life and filled with light paintings of artists of this direction, it is difficult to believe that their works have not been recognized for a long time and were considered a deviation from the canons of classical painting. "Around the World" invites you to travel across France and see how different parts of the country are captured in the work of impressionist artists.

Claude Monet. "Field of poppies at Argenteuil" (1873)

The painting "Field of Poppies ..." was painted by Monet in Argenteuil, which is located just 10 kilometers from Paris and in the 19th century was a favorite vacation spot for residents of the capital. Monet and his family lived in this suburb for seven years and created many bright, full of colors and colors of paintings.

In Argenteuil, the artist worked a lot in the open air: he was always attracted by the opportunity to depict a certain fragment of time, action and space on canvas. The painting "Field of Poppies at Argenteuil" reflects another passion of the artist - the love of flowers. Once, Monet even called his garden his main masterpiece.

This painting is clearly divided into several parts, the most important of which is the one that depicts scarlet flowers, contrasting with the empty right side of the canvas. We also see two couples painted with the artist's wife Camilla and his eldest son Jean. Their arrangement helps to structure the space of the picture and convey the captured movement.

While working on the painting, Monet did not mix paints, but applied strokes of different colors, which the human eye perceives as different color shades. At the same time, the artist prescribed more significant things more carefully. So, the accents here are made on the colors and the upper part of the human figures in the foreground, while the field on the right side of the picture and the sky are less clearly defined.

Pierre Auguste Renoir. "Bridge to Shatu" (1875)

Chatou is another picturesque corner of France, loved by the artists of the new trend. It is often called the Island of the Impressionists, because in this place the Seine is divided into two arms. As in neighboring Argenteuil, in the town of Chatou in the 19th century, an atmosphere of cheerful ease and noisy animation reigned.

People came here to swim, go boating or have a picnic, and these simple subjects were reflected in the paintings of the Impressionists. Papa Fournez's place under the Chatou Bridge, where you could not only spend the night, but also rent rooms, was Renoir's favorite place. It was in this institution that the artist created his painting "The Rowers' Breakfast", on which he depicted his acquaintances and friends. In 1990, the restaurant "Dom Fournez" was restored, now there is a small museum.

The painting "The Bridge to Chatou" differs from most of Renoir's works. Unlike Monet, the artist was much more fond of depicting people, and also preferred a richer color palette. And yet, "The Bridge to Shatu" is a landscape in which people are indistinct dark figures. The bridge is drawn more carefully than other elements, in addition, such a popular boating is depicted here. The landscape is characterized by fuzzy lines and a smoky light-air environment. The absence of clearly traced human figures evokes a sense of distance, and the light and color palette help to see joy in the everyday.

Frederic Bazille. "Landscape on the banks of the Les" (1870)

Thanks to the Basilles landscape, we travel from central France to the south, to the artist's home region. Basil's name is much less widely known than the names of his friends Monet and Renoir, since he died at the age of 28. "Landscape on the banks of the Les" is one of the last works of the artist: shortly after completing work on the canvas, Basil volunteered for the Franco-Prussian war, where he soon died.

The artist completed the landscape in record time, it took him just over two months to complete. During the work, Basil's relatives were away and did not distract him from the picture. In addition, he knew the area well. So, in a letter to his brother, he indicated exactly which place he depicted: "The bank of the Lez River near the mill at Navilau and the road to Clapier."

The painting is very different from the landscapes of Monet and Renoir, since Basil preferred to paint the sun at its zenith, and also depict harsh light, different from the weightless and smoky light on the canvases of his friends. Basil also uses bright contrasting colors, and in the work on the details of the picture, he is more accurate and careful. Thanks to this, we can recognize on the canvas "Landscape on the banks of the Les" trees and vegetation, characteristic of the southern part of France.

Camille Pissarro. Boaldieu Bridge at Rouen on a rainy day (1896)

Camille Pissarro went down in the history of impressionism as a master of the urban landscape. He painted several paintings in which he captured Rouen located in the north of France. Pissarro traveled to this city after seeing Claude Monet's cycle dedicated to the Rouen Cathedral.

Pissarro, like Monet, uses light and air to create paintings. He is attracted by the possibility of depicting the city as a living organism that is in constant motion. He uses a darker color scheme and denser strokes, but his paintings look more realistic. The unusual angle is often explained by the fact that Pissarro painted from the hotel window.

The artist strove to reflect on the canvas the industrial features gradually emerging in the city's appearance. This is what is interesting for Pissarro Rouen, who, despite the exquisite architecture, at the end of the 19th century became a port city and industrial center.

Paul Cezanne. "View of the bay in Marseille from the Estaque side" (1885)

The landscape of Paul Cézanne again brings us back to the south of France, but at the same time it is completely different from the paintings already examined. Cézanne's canvas, even to an unprepared viewer, seems more daring than the works of other impressionists. It is no coincidence that the artist is often called the father of modern art.

Born in the south of the country, Cezanne often depicted southern landscapes in his paintings. The surroundings of the fishing village of Estaque have become one of the favorite themes of his landscapes. In the 1880s, Cézanne, in an attempt to escape family troubles, came to Estaque and painted about ten paintings in which he depicted the Gulf of Marseilles.

"View of the Bay of Marseille from the Estaque" is one of the culminating works of this period and allows us to see the features of Cézanne's painting that influenced Pablo Picasso. This is primarily about the artist's special dense horizontal strokes, as well as the use of such deep and saturated colors as orange-yellow. Cezanne manages to achieve a volumetric image of water through the use of different shades of blue, as well as green and violet blotches. Like other Impressionists, Cezanne loved to paint the sea, sky and mountains, but in his image they seem to be denser and clearly defined.

The great French impressionist painter Claude Monet ( Oscar-Claude Monet), (1840-1926) loved to paint flowers. He painted flowers throughout his life, in different periods of creativity. More often garden and wildflowers, less often cut flowers in vases.

Flowers were his passion. Monet said that most of all in life he adores two things: painting and gardening. Therefore, he experienced the greatest pleasure when he depicted flowers in his paintings.

Even his family members, he always painted surrounded by flowers, thereby emphasizing his sincere love for them.

“Perhaps it is thanks to the flowers that I became an artist,” said Claude Monet about himself.

One of the early works of Claude Monet "Women in the Garden", 1866-1867, Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

The figures of women are depicted on this canvas in a very stylized manner. The artist makes all the emphasis on the play of light and shadow, on the foliage of trees and flowers. Monet is still looking for his own style; there are still five years left before the official date of the birth of impressionism.
The model for all three women was 19-year-old Camilla Donsier, the future wife of Claude Monet.

The canvas is very large, its dimensions are 2.05 by 2.55 m.
The artist intended to exhibit this painting at the Paris Salon in 1967, but the jury rejected him.

At the end of Claude Monet's life, when he was already a recognized and renowned master, the French government bought in 1921 the painting "Women in the Garden" from the artist for 200 thousand francs.

Saint Andress

"Terrace at St Andres", approx. 1867, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. This painting depicts the artist's family living in the small port town of Saint-Andresse near Le Havre on the Normandy coast. Monet's father and his aunt Madame Lecadre are sitting in the armchairs. At the railing stands a distant relative of Monet, Jeanne-Margarita, with a young man. We can say that this is a family scene against the backdrop of a seascape. But look at how the flowers are drawn in the foreground of the picture! How well Monet conveyed the texture of colors and the play of light and shadows.
"Blooming Garden at St Andres", c. 1866, Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
"Adolphe Monet Reading in Le Côteau Gardens at Saint-Andresse", c. 1866 g.
"Lady in the Garden", 1867, State Hermitage, St. Petersburg. The painting depicts a distant relative of Claude Monet, Jeanne-Marguerite Lecadre, in a garden in St. Andresse.

Argenteuil, 1872 - 1977

Claude Monet always wanted to have his own garden, where he could work peacefully in the open air.

At the end of 1871, Claude Monet and his family settled in Argenteuil. Then it was a small resort village near Paris, 12 km from the city center, located on the picturesque banks of the Seine. Argenteuil is now part of the Greater Paris. In Argenteuil, Monet had his own house and his first garden. It seems to me that it was in Argenteuil that the best paintings by Claude Monet were created. This was the brightest period of his career. Monet's painting is generally light, but it is in Argenteuil that his canvases simply shine with joy. Apparently, these were the happiest years of his life. Almost all the canvases painted in Argenteuil depict Camille, the beloved first wife of Claude Monet.

In those years, Argenteuil was a favorite vacation spot for Parisians, sailing regattas were regularly held there. A railway led to Argenteuil, and it was quick and easy to get there from Paris. Not only Monet, but also other impressionist painters Manet, Renoir, Sisley, Caillebotte painted their landscapes in Argenteuil.

"House of Artists in Argenteuil", 1873. Institute of the Arts, Chicago.
"Monet's garden at Argenteuil", 1873
"Houses at Argenteuil", 1873, Old National Gallery, Berlin. In the summer, Argenteuil was literally drowned in flowers.
"Flowers on the River Bank at Argenteuil", 1877, Pola Museum of Art, Hakone, Japan. The Seine at Argenteuil is very picturesque, in this place it forms a beautiful bend. Claude Monet was fascinated by the river and nature of Argenteuil, he enthusiastically worked here in the open air.
"Camilla Monet on a bench in the garden". 1873 year. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. As always a garden, and as always - flowers. Please note: there is a bouquet of flowers on the bench next to Camilla.
"Jean Monnet on a horse-bike". 1872 year. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Even painting a portrait of his son, Claude Monet did not forget about flowers. He preferred to capture all the significant events of his life on his canvases against the background of flowers.
"In the meadow", 1876 The canvas depicts the artist's wife, Camille Monet, reading a book in a meadow, surrounded by meadow flowers.
"Apple Trees in Bloom", 1873. Amazing!
"The artist's family in the garden", 1875
"In the Garden", 1875 This picture, apparently, depicts the same corner of the garden as the previous one, only a few months later - in the fall. Claude Monet loved to paint cycles of paintings - the same objects in different lighting conditions: at different times of the year, at different times of the day. He tried to convey the fleeting states of the light-air environment, to capture subtle halftones of color. We see how the corner of the garden is transformed, how the colors fade, the light fades. The flowers in the flowerbed were dying, and the foliage on the trees turned yellow.
"Woman with an Umbrella" ("Walk: Camille Monet with Son Jean"), 1875, National Gallery of Art, Washington.
"Camilla Monet with her son", 1875, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA.
"Garden Corner at Montgeron", approx. 1876, State Hermitage, St. Petersburg. Montgeron is a small town in the suburbs of Paris, located 18.5 km southeast of the city center. Now it is one of the southeastern suburbs of Paris.

"Woman with an umbrella in the garden at Argenteuil", 1875.	"Walk, Argenteuil", 1875.	"Walk in Argenteuil", 1875, Marmottan-Monet Museum, Paris.
"Garden", 1872.	Camille Monet in the Garden, 1873.	"Camille Monet in the window. Argenteuil", 1873.
"Bank of the Seine near the bridge at Argenteuil", 1874.	"Camille and Jean Monet in the garden at Argenteuil", 1873.	Camille Monet in the garden at Argenteuil, 1876, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
"Gladioli". OK. 1876. Institute of Arts, Detroit, USA.	"Girls in the Garden", 1875, National Gallery in Prague.	Camilla with a Green Umbrella, 1876.
"Garden gate at Vetea", 1876.	"Garden", 1876.	"Garden, Mallows", 1877.

A very interesting series "Lilac". Compare:

Poppy fields

One of the most famous paintings by Claude Monet "Field of Poppies" (1873, Musée d'Orsay, Paris) was painted in Argenteuil, not far from the artist's house. The painting depicts Monet's wife Camilla and his son Jean. Presumably, his wife and son also served as models for the figures of a lady with a child in the background.
See how expressively the artist painted scarlet poppies and yellow buttercups. Camille and Jean are literally drowning in poppies, forming complete harmony with the nature of a sunny summer day.
Monet chose a very good angle for his painting - scarlet poppies are located in the lower left part of the painting, diagonally along which Camille and Jean are walking. The feeling is created that the poppies go beyond the canvas.

Poppy fields fascinated Monet. He repeatedly returned to them in his work. He was attracted by the contrast of red poppies and green grass.

"Summer. Poppy field", 1875, private collection.

"Poppy field near Vetey" 1879.

"A field of poppies in a hollow near Giverny", 1885. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Poppy Field, circa 1890. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.

"Oat Field with Poppies", 1890. Museum of Modern Art, Strasbourg.

"Poppy field at Giverny". 1890-1891 Institute of the Arts, Chicago.

"Field of red poppies near Giverny", 1895. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, USA.

Tulip fields

Claude Monet visited Holland several times. And, of course, he could not remain indifferent to tulips. He created a series of paintings depicting the main attractions of Holland - tulip fields and windmills.

"Tulip Fields in Sassenheim, near Leiden", 1886, Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA.

"Tulip Fields and Windmills in Rheinsburg", 1886, private collection.

"Tulip Fields in Holland", 1886. Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

"Tulip Field in Holland". 1886, Museum Marmottan-Monet, Paris.

Vétheuil, 1879-1881

"Artist's Garden at Vetheuil", 1880. National Gallery, Washington.

In 1879, the Monet family moved to Vétheuil, a small village on the banks of the Seine, 65 km northwest of Paris. Here Claude Monet had a second son, Michel, but, unfortunately, Camille's first wife died soon after.
Monet's family lived in Veteuil until 1881.

Claude Monet meets the family of Alice Hoschedé, with whom he has already known for several years. They live together, later Alice became his second wife. But in the paintings of Claude Monet, Alice Goshede, unlike Camille, is very rare. Her daughters, stepdaughter of Claude Monet served as models for the artist's canvases.

"Flowers on the banks of the Seine near Vetey", 1880.	"Alice Goshede in the Garden", 1881. Claude Monet's future second wife.	"Staircase at Vetea", 1881.
"Island of Flowers near Veteya", 1880, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.	"Flowers in Vetea", 1881.	"Flowers in Vetea", 1881.

Flowers in a vase

Most of all, Claude Monet loved garden and wildflowers, but sometimes he also painted still lifes, bouquets of cut flowers.

"Spring Flowers", 1864. The location of the painting is currently unknown.
Of course, in this canvas it is still difficult to recognize the future great impressionist artist.

"Chrysanthemums", 1878. Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

"Bouquet of mallow", 1880.

"Sunflowers", 1881. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

"Chrysanthemums" 1882 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

"Purple Poppies", 1883. Boijmans-van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

"Anemones", approx. 1885, private collection.

"Two vases with chrysanthemums". 1888, private collection.

Giverny 1883 - 1926

In 1883, Claude Monet's family moved to Giverny. This is a small village in a picturesque area on the banks of the Eptes River, at the confluence with the Seine, about 80 km from Paris. Claude Monet will live in Giverny for the rest of his life.

By this time, he had already become a famous artist and a well-to-do person. In 1890, he was able to buy out the house in Giverny, in which his family lived. In the house, he equipped a spacious workshop.

Claude Monet significantly expanded his garden, arranged a pond in it, water into which came from a special water intake tank built on the Epte River.

In those years, Claude Monet became interested in Japanese culture, Japanese prints, especially prints by the great Japanese artist Hokusai.
To care for the garden, Monet hired a Japanese gardener who helped him decorate the garden in a Japanese style. Monet himself was directly involved in the planning of the garden. The artist subscribed to Revue horticole (Gardening Journal), ordered plants and flowers from different countries of the world for his garden.

It was this garden that became the main love in the last years of the artist's life. In it he worked, and he wrote it in all forms, from different points, at different times of the day. The garden became the main source of inspiration for the artist.
In the garden, Monet grew various flowers, water lilies grew in the pond, the famous "Japanese Bridge" was thrown across the pond. He could admire his garden for hours, observe the slightest changes in lighting, weather.
In the fall of 1899, Claude Monet began writing his famous series "Water Lilies", on which he worked until the end of his days.

Claude Monet in his garden in front of a pond with water lilies, 1905.

Claude Monet in his garden, c. 1917 Photo: Etienne Clementel.
The pictures look a little "colored" and blurry, since they were stereoscopic pictures, they had to be viewed through special colored glasses, then the image turned out to be three-dimensional.

Claude Monet (right) in his garden at Giverny. 1922 year. Photo courtesy of The New York Times.