The painting Woman with a Parasol-Madame Monet and Her Son is a painting by Claude Monet that was created in the late 1870s. The painting initiated Monet’s career. Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son is painted on oil on canvas ( Claude Monet | Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son, 1875) . It has a dimension of 39 2/5 × 31 9/10 in 100 × 81 cm. Today, the painting can be found at the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.
The painting has an image of a woman wearing a white attire and a veil. The woman also holds a green umbrella in her hand, perhaps showing that it is a sunny day and she is protecting herself from the hot rays of the sun. On her side stands a young boy who is also wearing a whitish attire and a bucket hat. The ground is green while the sky has blue patches as scattered clouds cover it. The woman looks down the hill as if she just saw someone coming to disrupt their little good time. The woman and her son look as if they are enjoying the outdoor family time in a field perhaps in a field somewhere peaceful. The woman is on a hill given the angle from which she looks at the painter. The day seems windy given the brush strokes that pass through the woman’s gown, which clearly indicate wind. The plants if the ground also seems to be swaying from side to side indicating wind movement. The woman and son are blended well with the environment making the image look realistic. The colors of the white clouds and the blue-sky blend well with the woman and son. Notably, the picture has hints of pink and yellow in the woman’s dress and hints if red and green on the son’s hat.
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The painting Woman with a Parasol-Madame Monet and Her Son is part of Monet’s many paintings that were produced during the summers of 1875 and 1876 ( Claude Monet | Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son, 1875) . The landscape background portrays the garden that as the home of Monet in Argenteuil in the suburbs of Paris. The garden also has poppy covered in the Colombes and Gennevilliers. Monet’s wife, Camille and his eight-year-old son were the models in the art piece a Woman with a Parasol-Madame Monet and Her Son. The Woman with a Parasol-Madame Monet and Her Son is painted outside. The painting seems as if the artist intended to portray a message about a family causally hanging out together.
The painting depicts a model dressed in a huge, white dress and a veiled hat. The woman is carrying a parasol while standing on a green hill that is outlined against a stunning blue whirling sky ( Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son . 2017) . A boy who is presumed to be the son due to the title of the painting stands next to her. The woman seems to be looking at someone who is gazing at them.
Monet uses excellent lighting in the painting making it attractive to the viewer. Additionally, the painting portrays a convincing depiction of the movement of the air in the green hills. Monet captures the effects of the sunlight profoundly through the usage of dark and light colors that express shadows and the areas it by the sunlight. The grass is also easily visible and painted in a realistic manner using comma-like strokes, and rapid, sturdy, and thin strokes that are of different sizes. Additionally, the painting depicts a boundless sky that is created informally and profoundly.
The woman in the painting stands in a majestic and yet a graceful way. However, the focus of the image is the color and movement. Monet mixes the colors in a careful way which enable him to create shadows. The fluidity of the brushstroke makes the image and the whole scenery more realistic so that the viewer can relate to the outdoor depiction. The parasol, the veil, and the dress of the women, Madame Monet, represent a higher status even though the Monet’s were not wealthy at the moment the image was painted. The parasol represents protection from the sun, something that was common among many women of the time when they went outside. The countryside painting is also a representation of what Monet would have wanted to grow up in, unlike the city in which he grew.
Claude Monet was born in Paris in 1840. He later married Camille Doncieoux in 1870. Together they had a son named Jean. Monet is said to have adored his wife Camille and thus used her as the model for the painting Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son. Unfortunately, Camille died in 1879 at 32 years. He later painted the Musée d’Orsay, a painting of his wife on her deathbed. Years later, in 1892, he married Alice Hoschede. In 1893 Monet moved to the northwest of Paris where he continued to develop large landscaping paintings such as the lilies. Claude Mnet was a creation member of the impressionist movement. Monet was interested in the direct observation and the uninterrupted study of specific portrayals of effects the light and shadow on color. Monet has other famous paintings such as the haystacks that were created in 1891, the poplars painted in 1892, the Rouen Cathedral of 1894, and water lilies that was formed in 1910-20. In each of the series of his paintings, Monet uses a similar site, while recording the shift in light. Monet created the painting of Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son as an experiment but ended up to be the most famous painting.
Claude Monet who lived from 1840 to 1926 was a French artist who was a famous landscape painter and a believer in the impressionist movement. The impressionist movement evolved in the late 1860s from a yearning to create full-scale and multi-figure depictions of common people and their open-air activities ( Herbert, 1988) . The impressionist art in painting fixated on what the eye distinguishes when it looks at colors of objects in different notches of the sunlight ( Herbert, 1988) . The En Plein is a name for painting outdoors, and impressionist works were characterized in Monet’s works ( Herbert, 1988) . Contrary to the traditional paintings, Monet used spontaneous and natural surroundings to create an image that is still famous today. Monet painted in oils paints on canvas with the colors of red, white, green, and blue. He also mixed colors to form shadows using the colors of dark violets. Notably, he did not use black in any of his paintings. Monet believed that by using light and dark shades to depict nature, then the painting will quickly take shape.
The painting is quite interesting given the movement in which it was created. The development of technology helped artists at the time to create realistic images that would attract the viewers as they could relate more to them. The image reminds me of a sunny Sunday afternoon in a field. It looks like a good time to take a stroll in the outdoors the serene environment is warm and welcoming that it makes the viewer feel comfortable just by looking at it. The brush strokes used in the painting may appear haphazard, but they are strategically placed to represent the wind, light, and the shadow. The colors used and the strokes attract a viewer’s attention. The vibrant colors help the artists depict the sunshine. The light colors make the image of the woman, Madame Monet, and her son appears realistic. Although the image is not as clear as paintings today, it is amazing that an artist would have done that year ago before the advanced technology.
I think the artist intended to show a mother and son strolling outside on a sunny day. Most families take walks when the weather is conducive such as a sunny and not-so-windy day. The artist wanted to show a bond between a mother and son. The piece has a certain level of insight into the subject matter of impression. Impressionist wanted to create realistic images. Impressionists did not depict heroes, historical events, or any religious figures, but instead painted images that represented pleasant moments in time and nature ( Coman, 1993) . The impressionist also focused on the issue of nature, the middle and upper-class entertainment and the effects of light and weather ( Coman, 1993) . In this art of the Woman with a Parasol-Madame Monet and Her, Son Monet, represents a pleasant time between a mother and on a sunny and windy afternoon.
Although the painting is interesting, I did not find it inexhaustible. Apart from the brush strokes, Madame Monet, the son and the weather, there was nothing else that fascinated me deeply. I feel like I had enough of the painting already and I would not come back to look at it many times. In depicting the impressionist motion, the artist, Monet, was successful in presenting a happy family in a pleasurable moment of a sunny-windy afternoon. Overall, I enjoyed looking at the picture and analyzing it. The artist excellently presents the image and the elements of the image.
References
Claude Monet | Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son (1875) | Artsy . (2017). Artsy.net . Retrieved 7 December 2017, from https://www.artsy.net/artwork/claude-monet-woman-with-a-parasol-madame-monet-and-her-son
Coman, F. (1993). Treasures of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: National Gallery of Art . Abbeville Press.
Herbert, R. L. (1988). Impressionism: Art. Leisure, and Parisian Society (New Haven and London, 1988) , 68 , 87-88.
Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son . (2017). Nga.gov . Retrieved 7 December 2017, from https://www.nga.gov/Collection/art-object-page.61379.html
