I had been anticipating the arrival of this exhibit since I've been in Melbourne! I was so excited to finally go see it last week. It showcased a range of Claude Monet's pieces, from portraits to landscapes, and of course, his waterlilies (nymphéas in french). I always love getting close to original paintings and thinking at some point in time, the artist themselves had stood in this proximity, contemplating their next brush strokes or color choices. I'm most comfortable with impressionism since it's how I was first introduced to painting, and being able to hang out with Monet's paintings was a very personal experience. Growing up, we always had calendars of impressionists hung up at home and it was really nice to finally "meet" the paintings in person.
Some of my favorites:
Gros temps à Etretat
Bras de Seine à Giverny
Vétheuil dans le brouillard
Le Parlement reflet sur la Tamise
Nymphéas
Prior to this visit, I honestly did not know much about the waterlily collection. I learned that Monet had painted 250 paintings of the waterlilies that grew in his garden at Giverny. 250 paintings of essentially the same thing. The waterlilies were revolutionary in their composition, in that they took the horizon out of the landscape, something that had never been done before.
Monet was obsessive, to say the least. He was obsessed with colors and light and his garden. He loved the sea. An analysis of Gros temps à Etretat shows evidence of grains of sand between the layers of paint. He was obsessed with movement and reflections. He painted what he experienced, not what he saw. His paintings were never a direct transfer of observations, they were renditions of his experiences.
He developed cataracts in his later years, and the desperation of his brushstrokes, trying to make out shapes and colors, broke my heart. You could see the deterioration, his loss of control, his technique slipping. He painted from memory.
La maison vue du jardin aux roses
"My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece."
Claude Monet
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