size of the original painting: 3 feet x 2.75 feet
Monet’s family has just paused on a walk outside. He grabs a canvas, paint, and a paintbrush and is painting furiously. In just a couple of hours, he creates this painting! The people you see are Monet’s first wife, Camille, and their son Jean.
Monet wanted to paint this scene as if it was alive. He invites you to use your senses as you examine . . .
• The Wind—can you feel it blowing in every direction? Do you hear it swishing the grasses? Is it a cool wind, or is it warm?
• The Sun—see how it shines behind and through the grasses and flowers to make them look like they are glowing? (This is called subsurface scattering.) Do you feel it coming and going behind the clouds? Do you feel it warm your cheek?
• The Flowers and Grasses—look at the variety of colors that change under the sun and in the shadows. What do they smell like? What does it feel like to walk through them?
• The Clouds—notice how they aren’t just white. How many colors did Monet use to paint them? Look around to see how he did the same thing with other objects in the painting.
What other sounds and smells might there be? What season do you think this is?
Meet the Artist:
Most people know exactly who you mean when you say Monet. But Claude-Oscar Monet’s parents called him Oscar. And like many other artist’s parents, Oscar’s dad didn’t want him to be a painter; he wanted Oscar to sell groceries and ship supplies! Fortunately, Oscar’s mom understood. Because of her encouragement, our world is prettier with Oscar’s art in it.
Oscar’s first paintings showed people with clear, defined shapes and details. Art critics really liked it! But Oscar’s friends invited him to paint plein-air (outside). They also influenced him to be looser, and to add lots of color.
That’s exactly what Oscar did. He also began painting landscapes instead of people. And rather than showing details like in a photo, he tried to capture light, movement, feeling, and mood. He called this impressionism, which is what Oscar is famous for. Many of his artist friends also became impressionists. But although Oscar had many fans, critics didn’t like his paintings and didn’t invite him to display his art in their prestigious shows.
There were other sad things about Oscar’s life: his mother, first wife, second wife, and oldest son died. And even though Oscar was a successful artist, he sometimes had money troubles. Then as he grew older, Oscar couldn’t see well, and his art grew darker and more abstract. (Abstract art doesn’t try to paint things the way they look.) But Oscar couldn’t stop painting, so he used huge canvases. And fortunately, after many surgeries Oscar saw better and painted until the end of his life.
Fun facts about Monet:
• When Monet was 15, he drew caricatures and portraits of his friends for money.
• At one point, Monet made lots of plein-air art on a boat!
• Monet often painted the same scene from various angles, seasons, and times of day. Click here to find the series of Monet’s haystacks:
Where in the world: France
