In June 25, Nympheas, a painting of water lilies by a French artist Claude Monet, was sold for a staggering 31.7 million pounds ($57.3 million) in London.
It is said that this was the second highest amount paid for any of the artist’s work. Interestingly, it was only six years ago one of his other worksfrom the same series, Le Basssin Aux Nympheas (pool of water: http://bit.ly/1qNOIOk), set another record. It fetched a whopping $85.3 million becoming the highest price paid for any of the artist’s paintings.
But who is Monet, and why are his paintings so sought after?
Oscar-Claude Monet born on November 14, 1840, in Paris, was a French painter who was a key figure in what was known as the impressionist movement in the second half of the 19th century.
Think differently
Throughout his long career, Monet consistently depicted nature, landscapes and the people of Paris and the Normandy coast as he saw it. He developed a unique style which attempted to capture on canvas, the very act of perceiving nature.
In his paintings he experimented with light and shadow, texture and colour. His work often attempted to seize the spontaneity of a fleeting moment. Some artists of the time were critical of Monet and his style of painting. They felt that it appeared unfinished and lacking in detail.
Monet was considered a rebel in the artistic world in many senses. He deliberately abandoned many classical European conventions of art in terms of composition, colour and perspective. He challenged the classical practice by representing his subject through asymmetrical arrangement of forms and their two dimensional surfaces. He brought a vibrant brightness to his work by using strong colours, which he did not mix. He even painted in small, thin, yet visible brush strokes something which was unheard of in the world of traditional European art.
Monet’s interest in recording perceptual processes is best seen in his series paintings Haystacks ( >http://bit.ly/1nOKTlQ , 1891), Poplars ( >http://bit.ly/1jqZv9R , 1892), and Rouen Cathedral ( >http://bit.ly/VtdFlF , 1894). In each series, Monet painted the same site repeatedly, recording how its appearance changed with the time of day.
In his later life he became fascinated with garden scenes. In Giverney where he resided he created a series of paintings called Water Lilies , which were impressions from a pond in his garden.
The painting which was sold recently in fact was a part of this very same series created in the 1910s and ‘20s.
The abstract portrayal of plant and water emerging from broad strokes of colour and intricately constructed textures was one of the artiste’s final pieces of work before he died.
Monet left behind a legacy of lasting contribution to the arts through his novel way of capturing the spirit of the moment in his paintings. His works of art therefore continue to be some of the most prized possessions for art enthusiasts even today.
