First Impressions
His Most Famous Painting (Impression Sunrise Or Impression, Soleil Levant) – Claude Monet
His “Impression Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant)” is counted among the most famous paintings in the world. Made in 1872, this painting gave the ‘Impressionist’ movement its name. This oil on canvas painting, measuring 48cm x 63cm (19″ x 24 3/8″), gives a view of the Le Havre Harbor in France.
“Impression Sunrise” is, as mentioned above, instrumental in imparting ‘Impressionism,’ its identity. Although, it was painted somewhere around 1873, it is registered as an 1872 creation. Monet had once explained the title saying, “Landscape is nothing but an impression, and an instantaneous one, hence this label that was given us, by the way because of me. I had sent a thing done in Le Havre, from my window, sun in the mist and a few masts of boats sticking up in the foreground….They asked me for a title for the catalog, it couldn’t really be taken for a view of Le Havre, and I said: Put Impression.”
The debut exhibition of “Impression Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant)” was held in 1874. Louis Leroy, a critic inspired by the painting’s name, wrote a negative review on it in Le Charivari newspaper titled, ‘The Exhibition of the Impressionists,’ thereby unknowingly christening the movement as ‘Impressionist.’ “Impression Sunrise” was once stolen in 1985 from the Museum in Paris, Musée Marmottan Monet. It was recovered in 1990 and was again put on display 1991, where it continues to stay until date. Not many references of this theft are available.
Monet was exceptional at both, his creative thoughts as well as his technique. In “Impression Sunrise,” he canvassed the sun illuminating at par with the sky. There is no definite lineation involved. The whole picture is a riot of colors, applied with loose brushstrokes to give an ‘Impression’ of a sunrise. Claude brought the effect with the help of a variety of colors and different color temperatures, instead of exploiting their unique intensity or contrast values. The blurred colors “Impression Sunrise” draw a passage of time in the landscape captured. Monet used oil paints, as they dry slowly and allow the painter to mix and blend colors, while helping attain the required levels of viscosity and dilution on canvas, as and where required. Monet though, did not travel a lot, but whenever he did, he liked to paint in his journey. He claimed that he just painted what he could perceive in nature, which “Impression Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant)” vouched for.
Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Is is also a venue for artists to display and sell their art . Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited. Please visit the website at http://www.Labedzki-Art.com
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First Impressions (original Julia Nunes)
