I have been always a big admirer of Claude Monet and his art, but what I really value the most is his courage and faith. Highly successful in his time Monet became an icon for Impressionist movement. But his road was rocky; he fought every step to earn his status.
I believe that there is always the right time and the right person for everything and Monet was the one to reject the traditional approach to landscape painting and instead of copying old masters he had been learning from his friends and the nature itself.
His father wanted him to go into the family grocery store business, but Claude Monet wanted to become an artist. When Monet traveled to Paris to visit The Louvre, he witnessed painters copying from the old masters. Monet, having brought his paints and other tools with him, would instead go and sit by a window and paint what he saw. Monet was in Paris for several years and met several painters who would become friends and fellow impressionists.
The term Impressionism is derived from the title of his painting Impression, Sunrise. He first became known locally for his charcoal caricatures with huge heads, which he would sell for ten to twenty francs. In his early days Monet whose income solely came from his paintings, had to conform somewhat to the Realist style even though he clearly disliked it. Despite his efforts to include Realist aspects in his paintings, Monet’s individuality was still evident. In the following years, it became increasingly clear that Monet was definitely more than a realist.
His friends were Renoir, Sisley, Courbet, Bazille and Pissarro. Together they shared new approaches to art, painting the effects of light en plein air with broken color and rapid brushstrokes, in what later came to be known as Impressionism.
Rejecting the rigidity of conventional training, Monet enrolled in the Academy Suisse, a studio without a set curriculum where students could set their own schedules and paint from life models as well as exchange ideas. Perhaps his love of painting inspired him to do portraits and still life. In addition to being easier to sell than landscapes, still life allowed the artist to continue his experimentation with the textures and colors of nature during periods when bad weather prohibited him from painting outdoors. Rejecting the rules of classical landscapes, the artist concentrates on reflecting changes in light and color, producing an astonishingly fresh momentary impression. He found delight in the reflections of water, sea breezes, the light of the sun, the pleasures of the countryside, and the value of the present moment.
With his own vision which is quite different from the world’s Monet occupies a special place in the art world. Artist who does not cared to falsify his feelings although it would be in his best advantage to play to widespread concepts. Every insult of his style made him and his friends stronger and he insist even more on continuing the chosen path.
If you love Monet’s art, like I do, then do not be discouraged and walk with me in the steps of Claude Monet to re awake his passion for light and art.
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