Claude Monet "Rouen Cathedral" - the crown of impressionism

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Claude Monet is an outstanding 19th century impressionist painter. His paintings surprise with their freshness and naturalism. Monet painted very vividly, was attentive to the smallest details and masterfully conveyed the color scheme.

Impressionism

Art historians around the world consider Claude Monet one of the iconic representatives of the movement, called "impressionism". This trend in world painting was created by several artists and quickly became widespread in Europe. The main idea of the Impressionist school was to convey the impression that the landscape made right on the spot. Previously, artists worked in workshops, painting non-existent landscapes or some things from memory. The new direction broke stereotypes about painting in general.

Claude Monet: the beginning of the journey

The Impressionists refreshed landscape painting and made it more realistic, albeit in exchange for detailing and "licking" the composition. The naturalness of the paintings of such artists fascinates more than the decorative fantasies of the early masters. Claude Monet did not immediately join the Impressionists, because of hisage. As a young man, he met one of the founders of the school - Eugene Boudin. This man went for walks with Monet and helped to learn to draw from nature. Despite the difference in age, Eugene saw talent in Monet, and both artists were at the same time teachers for each other.

About the series of paintings "Rouen Cathedral"

Rouen Cathedral is not only a work of art of architecture. It is also the name of a series of stunning works by the French artist Claude Monet. His paintings are like many copies of photographs, each of which has been applied some kind of filter. However, if you look closely, you can find many differences. In each work, the cathedral is depicted differently than in the previous one. It's all about lighting. At different times of the day, the source of light - the sun - is located at different points in the sky. Illuminating the composition of the cathedral in different ways, the luminary changes the location of the shadows on the building, creating bizarre shapes.

It is impossible to imagine how much the artist loved this miracle of architecture if he painted so many paintings with his image. From the canvases of Monet, the cathedral appears to the viewer in a completely different way: mysterious, lost or confident, cheerful. Weather conditions change the atmosphere of the picture, and with it the mood that the artist conveys.

Creativity in the fate of Claude Monet

Besides the facts, any work of art is influenced by the human factor. So, an artist in a bad mood will never paint a light, joyful picture. According to the Rouen Cathedral series, one can not only imagine the vagaries of the weather incity, but also the state of mind of Claude Monet.

The life period, which accounts for the time of work on the "Cathedral", was extremely difficult for the painter. He doubted, but still worked for several years. Sometimes Monet did not finish his work on the spot, but completed it in the workshop. However, this did not make his paintings less lively and impressive. After all, the main task of Monet, like his friends in the art school, was to convey the impression, impressione.

The artist wanted to show how the line between light and shadow is indistinguishable, how the rays of the sun can refract, whimsically change the shape of stone arches, buttresses and towers that cannot be changed. Indeed: it is difficult for many to understand how the same color can acquire different shades under different lighting conditions. On the example of the works "Rouen Cathedral", Claude Monet questions the concept of color, thereby challenging his time.

Cathedral on a sunny day

Paintings, where the cathedral is bright, were painted during the day. Depending on the sun and mood, Monet puts strokes of yellow, bluish, ultramarine "reflexes" on the walls of the cathedral. If you look closely, the buildings in the "sunny" paintings consist of continuous spots of light of different colors and shades. Monet's skill lies in the fact that he was able to convey the form without using contours or a sufficient amount of shadow. The artist simply sketched a lot of sunbeams - and the result was beautiful paintings of the Rouen Cathedral series. Claude Monet wrote lively, energetically, and his emotions are transmitted to the audience.

Monet's misty paintings

Studying the series of Claude Monet dedicated to the Rouen Cathedral, you can see that the artist really liked the magical time of day called twilight. The artist depicted Rouen Cathedral as mysterious, lost in the morning mist. This light, translucent haze gives the structure a romantic touch. Sometimes the haze envelops the cathedral so much that all the shades become pastel, barely distinguishable. However, the lack of contrast here is on purpose. Violet, blue, mauve and warm yellow hues shimmer gently, creating a feeling of soft radiance… In the morning pictures, the cathedral looks like a real holy place.

Cloudy weather

Cathedral before the rain by Claude Monet is a special piece of art. There are almost no warm shades in this picture: only cold grays and bluish ones. In some places, brown passages of arches are visible. It seems as if the cathedral was not built of stone, but woven from hundreds of thunderclouds, which can rain at any moment. Monet's strokes resemble heavy drops that are about to fall from heaven. The cloudy sky hanging over the building seems very heavy, just like the lines of the architectural elements of the cathedral.

Evening Cathedral

Monet's "Rouen Cathedral" is the clearest example of impressionism. In the pictures painted in the afternoon, towards evening, there is much more sadness than in others. Monet uses reddish and copper hues to depict evening studies of the cathedral. Sometimes there are shades of only one color:red, blue or brown, ocher.

Harmony in brown tones - a gloomy image of the cathedral "against the light". All the details of the structure are in shadow and partial shade, and a light yellow bright sky stands out in the background. The contrasts of the picture and the simultaneous combination of all shades are delightful.