This is oil on canvas painting and Monet depicts the small town of Argenteuil seen from a branch of the river Seine. The thick blue stripe running horizontally marks the main stream of the river. Behind it are houses and a church spire whose verticality Key events: is echoed by the white chimney of a factory. The smoke it emits About the artist: merges into the clouds above. However it does not affect the • Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871); Claude Monet (1840-1926) was a famous French overall soothing atmosphere of the landscape. This would have painter work gave a name (1871) to the art • whose Unification of Germany also been painted on ‘En plein air’ which means that the movement Impressionism, which was concerned painting would have been produced outside. This is a typical with capturing light and natural forms. He was one attribute of Impressionist artists. Landscapes in the art world of the most famous painters in the history of art and would have been considered a strange subject matter especially a leading figure in the Impressionist movement. In in this period. The artists focus is not on the modern city in the the community, Claude Monet became well-known background but he focuses on the changes and effects of the for his caricatures and for drawing many of the seasons to this particular river and its surroundings. He records town's residents. After meeting Eugene Boudin, a the reflections on the water, and the array of colours in the local landscape artist, he started to explore the trees. The colours in the trees are complementary colours thus natural world in his work. Eugene Boudin introduced making the painting radical. The orange also indicates autumn. him to painting outdoors, or plein air painting. Upon The trees shown at either side of the canvas also frames the returning to France after the war, in 1872, Monet modern city. The river also has ripples thus making the eventually settled in Argenteuil, an industrial town landscape more realistic. It is a recording of the scene in action. The striking contrast between golden foliage west of Paris, and began to develop his own Monet has used two scales of colour which are blues, and bright blue water is influenced from technique. heightened by luminous tinted whites, and orange-yellows with Japanese prints. In particular is Hiroshige’s The Context about the painting: tinges of green. They all work beautifully alongside one another. ‘Monkey Bridge’ in Kai Province. The blue water It was exhibited in the first Impressionist Exhibition The scene captivates its viewers. Monet scraped away layers of is framed asymmetrically by gold and green that was founded in 1873. It was formed by artists, paint, probably with the handle of his brush, from the trees to planes, just as Monet hemmed the blue water sculptors, engravers and lithographers for a period the right. Presumably he thought the paint surface had become between golden trees and reflections that are of ten years. It was the organization of free too thickly encrusted. However paint was applied in thick layers shadowed with green. Monet’s painting is also exhibitions without jury or honorary awards where (Impasto) and paint would have been applied on top of wet asymmetrical. each of the associates can show their work. paint. There are thick brushstrokes in the foreground and thinner brushstrokes in the background. He also avoided the use of dark colours and has used a warm colour paint Whatpallet; was Impressionism? therefore forming a calming atmosphere. The general location It was a movement in art, late 19th century (1869-1886) and the term was first used in 1874. It was anti-academic and its typical appears luxurious but in fact it would have been for the lower subjects were landscape and modern life. Their landscape work, like this painting In particular, was non-narrative with particular social classes of France. It is a simple landscape but little attention to the effects of light. The paintings were often small because they were painted outside. The compositions used owed distraction. There are also no people in the landscape. The their forms to new technology such as photography and Japanese prints. The colours are applied side by side with as little mixing as canvas has also been inscribed by the artist ‘Signedpossible and dated, thus creating a vibrant surface. Short, thick strokes of paint are used to quickly capture the essence of the subject rather bottom right, Claude Monet / 73’. It also has an atmospherical than its details. Dark tones are produced by mixing complementary colours and the use of black is avoided. The play of natural light is perspective. The play of natural light is emphasised. New and close attention is paid to the reflection of colours from object to object. Wet paint is applied without waiting for emphasised colours are also evident; chrome yellow and ultramarine. successive applications to dry, producing softer edges and intermingling of colour.
‘Autumn Effect at Argenteuil’ Claude Monet (1873)