Texture

The Luncheon







Claude Monet
Private collection
1873 Musée d'Orsay,
  Paris, France
Oil on Canvas
162 X 203 cm









       Claude Monet was born on November 14, 1840, in Paris, France. As a child he showed great interest in art. Instead of doing his school work he drew carricatures of his teachers, of which he sold on the streets. His father wanted him to go into the family business but Monet wanted to take another route. Now painting in oils, he enrolled in the Academie Suisse in 1859, where he met his future wife Camille. After an art exhibition in 1874, a critic insultingly dubbed Monet's painting style "Impression," since it was more concerned with form and light than realism, and the term stuck. Monet struggled with depression, poverty and illness throughout his life. He died in 1926 from lung cancer.

        I love how the texture comes through in this painting, just as vividly as the colors do. You can imagine the feel the slats of the wood bench, of the weaved wicker of the tray, the cool dirt under Monet's playing son, and the smooth metal of the coffee pot on the table. Monet did an amazing job with this painting to allow one to almost become a part of his life. To experience what he did through his brushstrokes.

http://www.claudemonetgallery.org/biography.html

                                                                                                                     
My only merit lies in having painted directly in front of nature, seeking to render my impressions of the most fleeting effects.

– Claude Monet