The Impressionist Movement in Europe during the 19th century completely transformed the ways in which people portrayed and perceived art, for it focused on light and shadows to bring out a more natural view of art, which had never been done before. The artistic changes that impressionism brought about contradicted much of what Europe had known to be true art. Although many did not receive this new art well, many artists rose to the challenge to accomplish this fresh art form. Desmond FitzGerald argues that Claude Monet was a monumental forefather of the Impressionist Movement in 19th century Europe, for no other artist could achieve such realistically natural works with use of color and technique.
While Monet may not have founded impressionistic art, he represents the genius behind the movement and the artist that comes to mind when associated with impressionism. Camille Pissarro founded the movement, and Claude Monet quickly followed in his footsteps. Born in Paris in 1840, Monet grew up as a caricaturist, but quickly transitioned into an aspiring painter on the streets of Paris. Boudin, a famous French painter, took Monet in and inspired him with the nature around him. “Monet’s path was rapidly leading to success, when he suddenly left the road, throwing himself heart and soul into the plein-air movement” (190). This transformation dealt with the problems of separating colors, subdividing tones, and challenging the effects of light. For example, Monet’s depiction of a Venice twilight shows the importance of color in the Impressionist Movement, for no other movement encourages a blending of colors to achieve such a natural look.
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Before these ideas, mixing colors “produced a dead nature,” rather than a work that truly depicted the reality of nature, as Monet accomplished (191). He began to find his own path and set the stage for many other artists to follow. He focused on many different mediums and focuses for his works, which led to different phases including the Poplar Series, the Matinée Series, the Cathedral Series, the Thames Series, etc.
Image from Monet’s Cathedral Series (Rouen Cathedral)
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Unlike most artists, Monet explored just about every kind of landscape and nature in order to broaden his repertoire. “No other landscape artist has surpassed Monet in the richness and variety of the problems which he has attacked in his active careers” (188).
Fitzgerald argues that what makes Monet stand out amongst other artists is his variety and diverse takes on the world around him. Monet did not always have an easy time, yet he was a “genius of patient and continuous study and improvement” that got him to the status that still holds today (182). Monet sought to progress his talents, which makes him a unique artist that never just settled, which Fitzgerald credits a lot of Monet’s successes to, for “he constantly seeks new worlds to conquer and nothing seems too difficult for his technique to accomplish” (188). He transformed old art forms into modern depictions of nature that differed from anything people had seen to date. Other artists truly admired Monet as they caught on to impressionism themselves, and it became a huge movement.
Camille Pissarro, Apple Trees in Bloom Renoir, La Grenouille
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In this way, Monet led the movement even though he may not have founded impressionism. He took nature and transformed its perception unlike any other artist could. “We have in Monet the great and steadfast revolutionary from all the precepts of landscape art that preceded him” (195). It is no wonder that artists followed in Monet’s footsteps, for he did create a sort of revolution in the modern art world that remains popular and well-accepted even today.
It can be controversial whether Monet or Pissarro truly founded the Impressionism Movement, since Pissarro came many years before Monet. Fitzgerald tries to point out that while the art form may not have been Monet’s premier idea, he practiced it and transformed impressionism to the form that it is today. In my opinion, that makes Monet a key founder of the Impressionism Movement. “He will be regarded in the future among the greatest landscape artists” for his persistence and dedication that made him famous in the first place (195). His keen determination to revolutionize art in the 19th century attributes to Monet’s success, for he took the view of nature to a new level through color and reality.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, Desmond. "Claude Monet: Master of Impressionism." Brush and Pencil 15.3
(1905): 181-95. JSTOR. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25503805.
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