Popularly known as one of the founders of Impressionism, Oscar Claude Monet (1840 – 1926) revolutionized the 19th century color theory.
His work was characterized by vibrant and luminous colors, and this allowed him to capture the ephemeral influence of light and nature with an uncanny precision. This guide will shed more light on the evolution of color in Claude Monet’s work.
Early Use of Color
Monet’s early work was heavily influenced by realism, a movement that pushed for a realistic approach towards subjects. Although he already started experimenting with colors, his work was more traditional and most of his subjects were interiors or landscapes with people.
Ivory Black was his color of choice during this period of his career.
However, even when using dark and muted colors to create outlines and shadows, Monet experimented with colors. This is apparent in “Still Life, the Joint of Meat” (1864) and in his earliest commercial work, “The Woman in the Green Dress” (1866).
“The Woman in the Green Dress” especially stands out with its striking colors, clear proof that Monet was beginning to abandon the realist earthy browns and black outlines, instead preferring to use brighter hues to describe the way light interacts with colors.
This painting depicts a composed Parisian woman, his then mistress, Camille, wearing a fashionable, green-striped dress with a fur-trimmed velvet jacket thrown over it.
It is a strong mark of the transition of Monet’s style and a step towards the color theory that defined the latter part of his Impressionist career.
In 1869, Monet traveled with Pierre-Auguste Renoir to a spa resort known as La Grenouillere, located on the outskirts of Paris. They painted the same subject, each with different perspectives.
This was a turning point in Monet’s career, where he abandons his darker colors for more lively palettes. The Salon judges did not look at this with a favorable eye.
Transition to Impressionism
Although Monet’s early work already hinted at what would become known as Impressionism, this transition did not truly start until the 1870s. The year 1874 shaped this movement, with an exhibition that shook the art world.
Alongside Renoir, Degas, Morisot, and Pissaro, Monet organized an art exhibition called the Salon des Refusés that attracted criticism and a host of negative reviews.
This was a radical movement, a middle finger to the traditional Salon where they showed off finished work that looked like they were still in progress, or at best, sketches.
This was a pivotal moment in time, birthing modern art. One negative review mentioned Monet’s work “Impression, Sunrise” (1872) and described it as ‘incomplete’.
In the newspaper Le Charivari, Louis Leroy, art critic, wrote: “Wallpaper in its embryonic state is more finished than that seascape.” The review was titled “Exhibition of Impressionists”, and the movement was officially born.
During this period, Monet began to treat color as central element of his work, completely abandoning darker colors and embracing pure light hues.
To him, these colors were powerful enough to depict the subject without the use of traditional dark outlines. Even in the shadows, Monet’s use of black was very minimal.
In his painting, “Red Boats, Argenteuil” (1878), he uses purple to showcase shadows, emphasizing his growing disdain for darker colors.
Monet’s mixtures were usually a mix of many colors. In fact, he would mix up to eight colors to create a muddy or dull color, rather than just start with a color with darker pigment.
Use of Color in his Iconic Series
In the 1880s, Monet’s work was almost completely synonymous with colors. He became more and more obsessed with how light interacted with the colors of his subjects.
This was the beginning of his iconic series, where he would paint the same subject over different times of day and seasons in a bid to study the way the reflection of light changed their appearance.
One such series was the Haystacks Series (1890-91), the first of what birthed many. In this series, Monet devoted his time to painting haystacks by his house in Giverny, in a bid to reflect the effect of the sun and the snow.
He created about 30 paintings, showing the fleeting effects of light and color. In winter, the haystacks are captured with violet and orange hues.
They are covered in snow, with just the tiniest hint of brown peeking through. Monet influenced Vincent van Gogh to create his own version of Haystacks.
The Rouen Cathedral series (1892-93), where Monet painted more than thirty views of the cathedral, is another notable series.
In fact, he rented an apartment from across the cathedral so that he could capture its facade at different times of the day and of the year.
Although there is no proof that he was the first artist to do this, he was the most noteworthy. The brushstrokes of these paintings are highly textured, with an aspect that conveys the feel of sculpted stone.
Monet’s final series was the Water Lilies series, stretching from the late 1880s to 1926. Work started in 1883 for Monet, in Giverny downstream from the Seine.
In 1893, Monet purchased the stretch of land in front of his home, where he built a Japanese-style garden. He also built a huge pond and filled it with water lilies and a humpbacked bridge.
Then he built a glass-walled studio on one side of the garden. There, he created the Water Lilies series, which has over 250 pieces.
As time went on, this series evolved, with the brushstrokes more Expressionist than Impressionist with the way they evoked the beauty of the water’s surface.
Monet reworked and remastered these pieces from 1914 to 1926, the year of his death. In the center of the pond, in the luminous blue and green center of the pond, lilies bloom, sitting on water that is tinged with a lavender-hued reflection of the sky.
In the last of these paintings, Monet’s focus was the surface of the pool, creating an image of a horizontal surface sitting on a vertical one.
Emotional Resonance and Color Theory
The most remarkable feature about Monet’s work is his ability to strike just the right balance between warm and cool colors, by applying purely unblended colors directly on the canvas.
Art painted with this technique gave the illusion of a visual blend. His approach in his painting series gave him the chance to explore how colors can appear differently, based on their environment and the colors that surround them.
In addition to this, Monet also explored how colors can change in vibrancy and luminosity when placed next to each other. This allowed him to create pieces with a sharpened illusion of reality.
Monet understood how to blend color with emotion, translating pigments and hues into almost tangible emotions. This style allowed viewers to connect with the paintings on a more personal level, as it evoked strong emotion, depending on the perspective. The artist was more focused on capturing a moment rather than a representation.
As an advice to American artist Lilla Cabot Perry, he said, “When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, a field or whatever. Merely think here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape.”
Conclusion
In conclusion, Claude Monet’s evolution in color theory highlights both his growth as an artist and his significant role within the Impressionist movement.
Through works such as “Water Lilies” and “Haystacks,” Monet mastered the expression of light and atmosphere, transitioning from darker palettes to more vibrant hues.
His innovative use of color and perception transformed the artistic landscape, prioritizing sensory experiences over strict realism.
This approach ushered in modern art and influenced how future generations of artists interpret and engage with colors and their subjects. Monet’s legacy as a pioneer of color and light remains a cornerstone of artistic expression.