Monet

by Vanessa Potts

Along with the other Impressionists, Monet's aim in his painting was to capture reality and analyse the ever-changing nature of light and color. He recorded his surroundings faithfully, from the grime of a Paris railway station to the incandescent beauty of his later paintings based on the gardens he created at Giverny in northeastern France.

Monet looks at all aspects of the painter's artistic style, with detailed commentary on 120 of his works. Some are held to be his most important pieces; others may be less well known, but all are essential to his artistic development.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History, Reference, Biography

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Sookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was an informative read. I have no knowledge of art or art history or the Impressionist movement or Monet. I just know couple of his paintings and thought they were incredibly beautiful and very very pretty. I found this book for less than two dollars in a used book store and decided to give it a shot.

The author has collected artwork by Monet and has arranged them chronologically along with brief description to each one of them. I am in no position to judge the author's authority on the subject but to accept as I have zero training and to my eyes there is no such thing as ugly or wrong art. It was interesting to read technical dissection of art work - about perspectives, angles, shadows, depth, layers, philosophy, point of view, and many such things. It was also interesting to note how Monet was breaking some sort of traditionalism that existed in art world by capturing mundane moments and using very big canvas to paint these ordinary things.

I just thought this was pretty neat and I had fun reading this and getting to know about art and art theory.

[Mike Futcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A competent tour through the selected work of Claude Monet. It was Monet's work which defined the Impressionist movement (taking its name from Impression, Sunrise, included here on page 74), where detail in a painting is sacrificed in favour of creating a general impression of the scene in question. To this end, Monet is primarily concerned with landscapes and other colourful nature scenes, as well as implied motion and the effect of natural light.

Vanessa Potts does reasonably well to guide us through Monet's artistic principles (though the introduction by Claire O'Mahony is underwhelming), pointing out certain techniques such as the relationship between the horizontal and the vertical, the proportions of sky and sea, and also subtleties like, in Zaandam, the wobbly reflections in the water indicating ripples of movement rather than stillness (pg. 70). There are some problems – she frequently makes reference to other Monet paintings not included in the book, and many of those which are reproduced are too small on the page to truly capture them. I know it is said of Monet's work that it is best viewed from a distance, but reproducing paintings so they are only a few inches wide might be taking it a bit too far.

Ultimately, it is a useful introduction to Monet's work. He is not one of my favourite painters, being a pure aesthete with no deeper meaning or story in his impressions, but Potts' book has given me an appreciation for his approach, and for the subtleties of technique in even his broadest brushstrokes.

[Milyoasis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an enjoyable read, I appreciated the introduction and insight onto the artist's life before getting to see some of his work. Some of the descriptions or ideas given by the writer seemed a little too unbelievable for me to think it was really Monet's intention, but I do like the occassional trivia and at times her way to describe the pieces was nice and added a new layer to the artwork shown, even if it was not the case at all times.

Also in some of the pieces you could see mentions of adjacent artworks that weren't in the book so that was a little of a bummer, but in the case that the mentioned piece was indeed in it, you are given the page number to check back (or forward!) So that's alright all things considered.

My intention was to discover more artworks of Monet since I barely scratched the surface on my own, and this book did give me exactly that, so I can't complain all that much. So if you're looking for that, it's a good read, just don't expect something super crazy or mind-opening.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monet is one of my favorite artists in this world. All his paintings are completely touching in my opinion, they always make me cry and give me a feel of magic. Impressionism is an artistic style that have the power to connect deeply with our emotions, is full of sensations that other styles just can't create. Monet is the representation on it and his life was filled with these colors and lights till the end. This book I bought some months ago is a jewel! Vanessa Potts presents more than 100 paintings of Monet with a beautiful and academic description and analysis for each of them. The selection is amazing, and it let you see his progress until the last days when he was almost blind, and even with that, still painting like a god.

[Savannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book if you are trying out new styles of painting. It has pictures and adds a brief description on what you should be looking at. I always held it further away from me to truly admire the beauty from the painting style Monet tried to depict.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful little volume with sharp reproductions and wonderful writeups.

[Jelena Nemet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love.

[Lilac A. Penda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Art for art's sake. Writing for writing's sake.

[candi · Rating 5 out of 5]

amo a monet 💌💌💌

[Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

yes very pretty paintings. claude really knew what he was doing

[Cristian de Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

leitura agradável

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief descriptions for each painting not only describe the techniques and story behind the work, but also draw comparisons for the reader to consider. A good reference book for the casual viewer.