'Impression–Sunrise' by Claude Monet

Here for your viewing pleasure is Claude Monet's Impression - Sunrise (1872), the painting that gave the name to the movement.

Painted of the sea outside his Le Havre window after lengthy study, and pressed for a name, Monet said he could hardly just call it 'Le Havre.' So Impressions - Sunrise it was. Said critic Jules-Antoine Castagnary,

If one wishes to characterise and explain the [new artists] with a single word, then one would have to coin the word impressionists. They are impressionists in that they do not render a landscape, but the sensation produced by the landscape. The word itself has passed into their language: in the catalogue the Sunrise by Monet is called not landscape, but impression.

You can see how he used colour to produce his impression briefly explained here.

And as always, click to enlarge.  (You know you want to.)

‘Water-Lily Pond’ - Claude Monet

The Water-Lily Pond (Le Bassin aux Nymphes), Calude Monet, 883mm x 931mm, 1899

Now this is pretty cool. Starting next week, Te Papa hosts an exhibition of what looks like some of the finest Impressionist art works ever painted.

And these are paintings you need to see live in person to get the full effect because they were masters at using paint to give three-dimensional effects.

Sure, enlarge and then stare at Claude’s painting above for a few minutes and it will begin to come to life. (Go  on, do it, do it now). But stand and stare at in the gallery—and you’ll want to stare at it for some time once you start—and if it doesn’t come to life while you’re staring at it, I’d almost pay for your admission and your flights to Wellington prints myself.*

Because, by Galt, the old bugger knew what he was about.

* * * * *

* Don’t press your luck. I said “almost.”

‘Water-Lily Pond’ - Claude Monet

The Water-Lily Pond (Le Bassin aux Nymphes), Calude Monet, 883mm x 931mm, 1899

Now this is actually pretty cool.

In my mailbox this morning was a picture of the Mona Lisa, and another of Claude Monet’s Water-Lily Pond.  Not full-size pictures, you understand, but bigger than A4, and faithfully reproduced on a canvas simulacram.  These are nicely done.

The offer is one of those complicated Reader’s-Digest type of “send-in-this-lucky-coupon-now” pieces of runaround, but what it boils down to is that if you somehow contrive to get on their mailing list and then either make the right cancellations or the right payments at the right time, you can get several of these very fine prints for very little .

They have a website at www.imponline.co.nz, and you can apparently phone them on 0800-446291 if you want to get in on this.  I’ll leave the rest to you, including deciding whether or not you want to.

In the meantime, I invite you to enlarge and then stare at Claude’s painting for a few minutes. If it doesn’t come to life while you’re staring at it, I’d almost* pay for your prints myself. Because, by Galt, the old bugger knew what he was about.

* I said “almost,” alright!