Reflective Essay on Impressionist Sunrise by Claude Monet

The Art of Claude Monet - Impressionist Sunrise

Introduction

I chose the art which is “Impression Sunrise” that made by Claude Monet French painter, that done with oil paint on a canvas. On first sight, I found this piece of art very attractive and unique. I personally love to make more deeply observation on this piece of art. It would be very interesting to know about type of art, it’s historical position in history, what makes this art more revolutionary and concept that Claude Monet used in the composition of object or subject.

I really like the way how artist made this oil painting by thin washes of rather muted colors, on top of which he is painted short strokes of pure color. Line is consider as a basic tool of the artist. In this piece of art, it is interesting that how artist use thin rapid strokes that gives movement, tension, action, drama and gesture.

Apart from this, I feel amaze that how artist made the detailing of objects very neatly and how he uses technique behind that. I really like the way how artist paint boats in the foreground, as well as the sun and its reflection, were added when the thin paint-layers beneath them were still wet. This painting is very time consuming to make it with a proper detailing and according to my research on this painting, this piece of art was completed probably in a single sitting.

An important aspect of the Impressionist painting was the appearance of quickly shifting light on the surface of forms and the representation changing atmospheric conditions. The Impressionists wanted to create an art that was modern by capturing the rapid pace of contemporary life and the fleeting conditions of light. They painted outdoors to capture the appearance of the light as it flickered and faded while they worked.

Shape is created when a line turns or starts to enclose an area. To give dimension to shapes, artists create light and shadow effects creating form. Traces of a previous painting Monet had begun on the same canvas have become visible through the later layers, which have presumably become more translucent with age. Dark shapes can be seen around the signature and vertically above its right part, extending down into the area between and below the two boats. In this painting still, water and port scenes like water and sky alike are treated in liquid sweeps of color which suggest that money may have responded to whistler’s early nocturnes. (LiveAbout, 2019)

The orange of the sun seems very intense against the grey sky, convert a photo of the painting into black-and-white and tone of the sun is like that of the sky. The sun in this painting seems both hot and cold, light and dark. It appears so brilliant it seems to pulsate. The sun is no lighter than the background clouds.

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Besides of that, Monet gave depth perspective. In this painting it is very interesting that how artist paint boats and gave visually effect on that object. It is amazing to seems that boats get lighter in tone which is called aerial perspective, the lighter boats appear to be further away from us the darkest one. This aerial perspective on the boats is echoed in the water in the foreground, where the flecks of paint of the water shift from dark (below the boat) to lighter (orange of the sunlight) to lightest. You may find it easier to see in the greyscale photo of the painting.

Notice also that the three boats are arranged on a straight line, or on a single perspective line. Line is most essential tool of painting, artist used it more wisely. Diagonal line charged with power and energy. Some of horizontal line that reflect effects of calming soothing This intersects the vertical line which rendered the impression of trust, power and height created by the sun and reflected sunlight on the water. Monet uses this to draw the viewer further into the painting and give a sense of depth and perspective to the scene.

Monet exhibited the painting he titled Impression: Sunrise in what we now call the First Impressionist Exhibition, in Paris. Monet and a group of about 30 other artists, frustrated by restrictions and politics of the official annual art salon, had decided to hold their own independent exhibition, an unusual thing to do at the time. They called themselves the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Engravers, etc. and included artists who are now world famous such as Renoir, Degas, Pissarro, Morisot, and Cézanne. The exhibition was held from 15 April to 15 May 1874 in the former studio of the photographer at 35 Boulevard des Capucines, a fashionable address. In his review of the exhibition, the art critic for Le Charivari, Louis Leroy, used the title of Monet's painting as the headline, calling it the 'Exhibition of Impressionists.' Leroy had meant it sarcastically as the term 'impression' was used 'to describe a rapidly notated painting of an atmospheric effect, artists rarely, if ever exhibited pictures so quickly sketched'. The label stuck. In his review published on 25 April 1874. In a supportive review published a few days later in Le Siècle on 29 April 1874, Jules Castagnary was the first art critic to use the term Impressionism in a positive way:

'The shared point of view that makes them a group with a collective force of its own is their decision not to strive for detailed finished, but to go no further than a certain overall aspect. Once the impression has been discerned and set down, they declare their task finished. ...If we are to describe them with a single word, we must invent the new term Impressionists. They are Impressionists in the sense that they depict not the landscape, but the sensation produced by the landscape.' (LiveAbout, 2019)

Claude Monet was the leader of the French Impressionist movement, literally giving the movement its name. Monet born on November 14, 1840 Paris, France. He believes that “a landscape does not exist, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life - the light and the air which vary continually. For him, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value.” As an inspirational talent and personality, he was crucial in bringing its adherents together. (The Art Story, n.d.)

Conclusion

In summary, Perspective in Monet’s “impression sunrise” painting is obsessive. Interested in painting in the open air and capturing natural light, Monet would later bring the technique to one of its most famous pinnacles with his series paintings, in which his observations of the same subject, viewed at various times of the day, were captured in numerous sequences. Masterful as a colorist and as a painter of light and atmosphere, his later work often achieved a remarkable degree of abstraction, and this has recommended him to subsequent generations of abstract painters

Bibliography

1. (n.d.). Retrieved from The Art Story: https://www.theartstory.org/artist-monet-claude.htm
2. LiveAbout. (2019, may 24). Retrieved from https://www.liveabout.com/monet-impression-sunrise-2578283