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Highlights from the Permanent Collection |
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Water Lilies (c.1915-1926), Claude Monet (French, 1840 - 1926)
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Water Lilies (c.1915-1926), Claude Monet (French, 1840 - 1926) In 1914 Claude Monet wrote, "I am hard at work...I have undertaken a large work that thrills me." This quote refers to Monet's Grande Décoration, a series of monumental paintings of the beloved lily pond in the gardens of his home at Giverny to be arranged in series in an oval room, thus creating a continuous panorama that would surround and enclose the viewer in an environment of pure color. These paintings-to which Water Lilies belongs-occupied Monet until his death.Monet intended to group this painting with two others (today in Kansas City and Saint Louis). Collectively known as L'Agapanthe, these three canvases depicted the lily pond and agapanthus flowers growing along its banks. Later Monet painted over the agapanthus, eliminating the foreground to underscore the sense of organic, flowing movement. Instead he focused solely on the water's shimmering surface and the clusters of floating lily pads, as well as reflections of swaying grasses and the constantly changing sky. Page 8 of 14 | On the next page: Twilight in the Wilderness (1860), Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826 - 1900) |
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