Monet’s move to Abstraction
My fur baby, Charlie, is not feeling so well these days. He is slowing down and there was nothing better to do in the world than sit down with a good book and Charlie on my lap. I was reading a book that was a gift from my son and daughter-in-law, brought home to me after their trip to France. The great museums of Paris were a highlight of their travels. Back in those days, I would ask them to bring me back a book. Now, I hold back on that because I realized that if you were trying to travel lightly, books can be a bit bulky. On the other hand, the books that are sold in art museums are amazing and often can not be found elsewhere. So, now, I just suggest taking a photo of the covers of the books that they have curated in their bookshops, instead ;) That way I can find the “Needles in the Haystack” on Amazon. This particular book is called “Museé de L'Orangerie- The Nympheas of Claude Monet” by Michael Hong.
Anyway, while reading, something struck me, because I lean toward abstraction and love the work of famous Impressionist, Claude Monet. In the last chapter called "Claude Monet’s path to Abstraction", author wrote this:
“Thus, around the turn of the century, the Realist myth was still going strong; Artists insisted on working after reality, on representing reality- with the illusion of not transposing it”. What a good way of describing figurative abstraction.
That's what Monet did with his water lilies! Then the book goes on to discuss that the charming idealism of Monet’s Water Lily series and many other paintings from the last 30 years of his life, were a wink at nd move toward abstraction. This was before anyone coined the phrase "abstract" art. He did this via an excellent use of color by introducing non-representational interpretations in his life long study of light. I was excited to see the connection between the Impressionists and Abstract Art. Many famous contemporary Artists spoke highly and acknowledged his move to Abstract art in writing.
It is a great book and an even better museum. The museum was originally built in the 1850’s to house orange and other citrus trees over the winter in Paris. Now it is the permanent home of Monet's water lily series and many other masterpieces.
I loved the phrase “Artists insist on Working After Reality, on representing reality, with the illusion of not transposing it”, as that is a very thought provoking way to describe a move to Abstraction.
In 1975 I saw my first art exhibit by Claude Monet at the Art Institute in Chicago and was forever moved by it. Today, it was in this reading that I connected the dots between my love for Monet and the sense that I love the way that the Impressionists and the Abstract Artists represent reality with out the illusion of transposition.
