The history of modern art started with impressionism. This art movement began in Paris, it occurred as a reaction to formal style of painting. Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet, Edgar degas, Alfred Sisely and Pierre Auguste Renoir preferred to paint outside. Impressionism is a form of art that tries to achieve the effect of visual reality in terms of the effects of light and colour. Some examples of impressionist artists are Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley.
Name of work: Red boats, arguentile
The country where the artist lived: Claude Monet created this canvas at the banks of the Seine at Argenteuil
Name of artist: Claude Monet
When the work was made: 1875
In this work by Monet, the intense rust-red of the boats in the centre/middleground of the work is emphasized against the harmony of the blue water, sky and the subtle green of the plants floating along the top of the calm ripples of the water. There are numerous vertical, inorganic lines mainly used for the masts as well as organic lines. The texture and tone found in the clouds allow them to appear fluffy, light and soft. Different textures are found throughout the whole painting where different brush strokes (mainly short) and techniques have been used. There is use of tone in the sky where the intensity of the colour has been reduced, softened and blended. The media used to compose the artwork are oil on canvas. The accumulation of objects in the painting has been depicted in a realistic size against their surroundings and the use of colour has mostly been taken from a lighter, paler palate, with no dominant or vibrant colours which stand out from the rest, accept for the rust-red of the boats which is one of the warmer or hotter shades of colour in the painting.
The focal point in the artwork is the rust-red boats in the centre or the middleground of the painting. This is the focal point because it contrasts with the surrounding paler tones and is the painted in the most dominant colour of all the objects and scenery. The secondary focal point may be the part of the green and white rowboat in the foreground.
This work was painted because Monet was seeking to capture the fleeting changes in the glinting play of air and light. In order for him to observe the effects of sunlight more closely, he worked from a boat turned into a studio. There is no particular message that is expressed or conveyed from this artwork.
Monet is successful in capturing the effects of light on a canvas, the style of painting suits what Claude Monet was trying to achieve because impressionism is a form of art that tries to create visual reality. My favorite parts of the artwork are the two rust-red boats in the middleground of the work because they stand out and I like the way that they are reflected onto the tranquil water.
Title: Red boats, Argenteuil
Artist: Claude Monet
Media: oil on canvas
Year: 1875
