I, Claude Monet
At selected screens around the UK last night, a new film was being shown as part of an Exhibitions Onscreen initiative. The film was I, Claude Monet: a biopic that documents the troubled and difficult life of one of the world's most famous artists of all time.
What was impressive was the manner in which the film told the story; it did so solely through Monet's own words, from his hundreds of letters that he wrote throughout his life, both to close friends and spouses. You are taken on a journey right from Monet's childhood all the way through to his slow, deteriorating last days in what is an emotional experience. Juxtaposing real-life footage of the towns in which he used to paint with the paintings themselves, his words give a whole new meaning to the art and you start to truly understand this wonderful artist.
Who knew that Monet was so immensely poor and struggled to survive for much of his adult life? The founder of Impressionism lived in such severe poverty that his first wife passed away, with Claude unable to afford help to cure his wife's disease. Constantly moving house, searching desperately for work, meanwhile producing some of the great works of our time, when Claude Monet is put into the context of his life, his oeuvre becomes quite simply astounding.
Starting out as a rebellious caricaturist back in Le Havre, Monet lived all over France befriending some of the most iconic painters in recent times such as Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas and most significantly Pierre-Auguste Renoir, one of Claude's all-time great friends. His letters reveal his passion for painting, constantly striving for perfection and utilising countless different techniques to try and achieve it. He said himself that he simply painted what he saw, making countless techinical mistakes as he did it, but always hoping to produce great work. One example is given in Rouen when he was producing up to twelve canvases a day, all of the same muse: the Cathedral.
Monet was a workhorse: obsessive, compulsive and often depressive. He certainly did not lead an easy life. What may also impress you is the age at which he painted some of his most quintessential pieces: the world-renowned Water Lily paintings that now sit in the Orangerie in the Tuileries were painted right at the very end of his life when he could barely see, suffering from acute cataracts. It's mind-boggling to think that this priceless piece of art came at such a late stage of his career.
This article gives but snippets of this compelling piece of cinematography. The film is stunning, fascinating, and gives a whole new dimension to the painter we all assume we know. There was so much more to this man than just his paintings: his ideas, his sensitivity to nature and his talent are all up there with the greatest of all time.
Have a watch, it is utterly enthralling. Have a look at a trailer here.
What was impressive was the manner in which the film told the story; it did so solely through Monet's own words, from his hundreds of letters that he wrote throughout his life, both to close friends and spouses. You are taken on a journey right from Monet's childhood all the way through to his slow, deteriorating last days in what is an emotional experience. Juxtaposing real-life footage of the towns in which he used to paint with the paintings themselves, his words give a whole new meaning to the art and you start to truly understand this wonderful artist.
Who knew that Monet was so immensely poor and struggled to survive for much of his adult life? The founder of Impressionism lived in such severe poverty that his first wife passed away, with Claude unable to afford help to cure his wife's disease. Constantly moving house, searching desperately for work, meanwhile producing some of the great works of our time, when Claude Monet is put into the context of his life, his oeuvre becomes quite simply astounding.
Starting out as a rebellious caricaturist back in Le Havre, Monet lived all over France befriending some of the most iconic painters in recent times such as Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas and most significantly Pierre-Auguste Renoir, one of Claude's all-time great friends. His letters reveal his passion for painting, constantly striving for perfection and utilising countless different techniques to try and achieve it. He said himself that he simply painted what he saw, making countless techinical mistakes as he did it, but always hoping to produce great work. One example is given in Rouen when he was producing up to twelve canvases a day, all of the same muse: the Cathedral.
Monet was a workhorse: obsessive, compulsive and often depressive. He certainly did not lead an easy life. What may also impress you is the age at which he painted some of his most quintessential pieces: the world-renowned Water Lily paintings that now sit in the Orangerie in the Tuileries were painted right at the very end of his life when he could barely see, suffering from acute cataracts. It's mind-boggling to think that this priceless piece of art came at such a late stage of his career.
This article gives but snippets of this compelling piece of cinematography. The film is stunning, fascinating, and gives a whole new dimension to the painter we all assume we know. There was so much more to this man than just his paintings: his ideas, his sensitivity to nature and his talent are all up there with the greatest of all time.
Have a watch, it is utterly enthralling. Have a look at a trailer here.
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