If you’ve ever been to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, I will guarantee that you will have been knocked out by the picture above, by Claude Monet. It’s one of my favourite Monet pictures and the vibrant whites leap out from the canvas.
So, when I was recently reading an article in the online DailyArt magazine which featured this painting, I couldn’t resist sharing it with you.
It’s called The Magpie and you can see the bird perched on field gate. But the true star of the show is snow, or rather Monet’s magnificent depiction of snow. The author of the article in DailyArt, Tommy Thiange, writes: “Claude Monet struggled for years, amassing debts and borrowing money from family and friends. Despite a few successful exhibitions and peer recognition, his career took its time to take off. He had depressive episodes, but the light returned at times, and his enthusiasm for work would return. The French master enjoyed simple pleasures such as spending time with his family, a good meal, and the peace and quiet of the countryside.â€
And, of course, painting, producing works like the magnificent Magpie above: “Monet stated that the countryside was even more beautiful in winter than in the summer, for winter provided him with an excuse to investigate the interactions of light with the snow and sun, allowing him to experiment with a wide range of incredibly rich white tones.â€
Monet and fellow-Impressionist Auguste Renoir were firm friends and looked out for each other in this difficult financial period. I seem to remember reading somewhere that Renoir tramped out into the field where Monet was immersed in painting, with a hot water bottle to keep his buddy’s feet warm, but I can’t find any confirmation of that story. If anyone knows of a source, please let me know.
You can learn a lot more about Monet in Tommy Thiange’s article, which concentrates on the 10 most important paintings in his life and which you can read by clicking here.
We can’t promise you snow when you come on one of the Watermill is renowned painting courses; in fact, we can promise you NO snow, but inspiring tuition, warm hospitality, spectacular settings, delicious food and wine and, of course, a convivial group of painting buddies. We’ve even got hot water bottles, but we sure we won’t need them!
For more about everything Watermill-wise, please click here.