Claude Monet is most definately my favorite Painter of all time. Widely considered the foremost Impressionist painter, Monet inspired Masters like Degas and Renoir. Monet's paintings, characterized by their blurred lines, quick brush strokes and interpretation of light, capture the essence of the subject without the harsh realism of previous centuries.

Earlier on in his career Monet's paintings attempted to catch the momentary light and mobility of his subject. His paintings were done quickly and almost completely outdoors. As his career progressed, he became increasingly fascinated with the atmosphere. Late in his career Monet devoted himself to painting one subject ten, twenty or thirty times. Repeating subjects so that he could show the continuous atmosphere generated by his landscapes.

The Display I saw of Monet's was at the National Gallery of art. This one small gallery in a huge museum has drawn me repeatedly over the year. The dozen or so paintings have captured me for hours. They are mainly later works, and one out of a series of paintings. I will examine the five paintings that caught my attention the most. Each is a testimony t

These two pictures are a little dark but you can imagine the experience. This series truly accomplishes Monet's goal in painting. Not to stay true to the subjects image, but to stay true to the feelings, or emotions surrounding the subject.

"To me the motif itself is an insignificant factor , what I want to reproduce is what exists between the motif and me" - Claude Monet (1840-1926

An artistic manifesto with an almost philosophical twist and the amazing thing is that he does it. The Color of the light seems tangible, like a reflection. Though hazy and blurred there is the feeling that you are really looking out on the cathedral either in sunlight or sunset. This kind of painting uses a completely new concept. Instead of painting strictly the subjects, the artist uses the subject as a backdrop to the more prevalent emotion or "atmosphere". These two pictures really caught my attention and I must have spent at least a half hour staring. This is the brilliance of Monet. It seems less of a painting, the work of a man, and more like a window into Utopia.

Up close, these two representations of the Cathedral are almost indiscernible from mixed paint on a painter's palette, just swirls of other colors. The amazing this is when you step back and the painting goes from a glob of colors to a rather remarkable representation of a cathedral at different times during the day.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Washington DC, Explore DC, Japanese Footbridge, Claude Monet, Renoir Monet's, Instead Pinks, Seeing Monet, National Gallery, Instead Monet, Grey Day, national gallery, gallery art, national gallery art, brush strokes, claude monet, waterloo bridge, bridge grey day, cloudy day, washington dc, art washington, c2000 national, copyright c2000, c2000 national gallery, art washington dc, copyright c2000 national,
Approximate Word count = 1349
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)