Impressionism

Lesson 3: Use of Light

Monet and Giverny

A discussion of the Impressionists and their use of light is not complete without reference to Claude Monet and the work he did in his own gardens at Giverny, north of Paris in Normandy.

There he could experiment at his convenience with the way varied light conditions affected his favourite subjects: the flowers and bushes he planted and the Water Garden with its Japanese bridge.

Monet’s large oval shaped installation called the Nympheas consists of a series of large canvases mounted permanently to the walls of the Musée l’Orangerie in Paris. He worked long hours on these beautiful lily ponds and in 1918 he donated the works to the state in celebration of the end of World War One. Here's a shot of one of Monet's Waterlilies paintings in the Nympheas.



Short of flying to Paris and driving north from for an hour or so to see the real Giverny, you can get a great feeling for what it has to offer by taking a virtual tour. Click http://www.mbam.qc.ca/visite-vr/anglais/ to go to a Web site that allows you to virtually wander through the gardens. You can click icons to see paintings that Monet painted from certain vantage points and photographs of how the gardens look in "real life."

The last time I was in Paris, I videotaped Monet's Nympheas at the Orangerie. In fact, the picture at the beginning of this topic is actually a video still. To see more of the exhibition (which is unbelievable!), you can go to my site at http://www.greggsimpson.com/Nympheas_1

Why do you think these paintings are so popular? Do you think the Waterlilies paintings actually capture the effect of light on water? Which ones are your favorites?

For more information about the Waterlilies and Giverny, check out page 128 in Impressionist Art - A Crash Course.

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