Celebrating Claude Monet's Birthday

The Wild Poppies

Oil on Canvas, 1873

Shown at First Impressionist Exhibition in 1874

Today is Claude Monet's birthday (1840-1926). He is one of the seminal artists of the Impressionist movement in art which flourished notably in France from the early 1860's until the early 1900's. His art is dominated by three principles that he adhered to for his career. First, he advocated the concept of "en plein air"--the artist must go outside to paint. The second, related to the first, is that the artist must capture the various nuances of light. (This he did in his various portrayals of the Houses of Parliament and the Rouen Cathedral) Third, the artist must respond spontaneously to his subject and so there is no time or requisite for accurate lifelike representation which is the fundament of classical painting. The artist- far from expressing eternal fixed principles-captures an impression of the moment.

In "The Wild Poppies" (above), one can see these principles clearly demonstrated. Note the strong diagonal movement from upper left to lower right by his repeating his 'wife and child motif' above and below.