Learn about Claude Monet's painting techniques.
The French painter Claude Monet (1840 to 1926) epitomizes the movement known as impressionism. Louis Leroy, a critic of Monet and his peers, first used the term "impressionist" as an insult. He deemed the unfinished-looking works of Monet inferior to works in the classic style of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The techniques of Monet and his fellow impressionists have since gained wide respect and admiration, and impressionism remains one of the most popular movements in visual arts.
Impressionism
Impressionist painters strove to capture an initial "impression" of an outdoor scene or other image. Unlike history painters or artists of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, impressionist painters worked rapidly to capture shifting light and reflections. Impressionist paintings often appear sketchy or unfinished compared to the more smoothly finished works of the classical French tradition. This sketchiness served the purpose of communicating the liveliness and spontaneity of a scene.
Plein Air Painting
Monet and his peers often worked outside, sitting directly in front of their subjects in a method of painting known as "plein air." Painting outdoors allowed Monet and his fellow artists to capture more directly their impressions of nature. Edouard Manet's 1874 painting "Claude Monet Painting on His Studio Boat" shows Monet with his easel and canvas set up in a boat on the river. Monet often painted alongside his friend and fellow painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir. In the summer of 1869, both men painted the baths of La Grenouillere. You can see Monet's painting of this resort at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Renoir's painting of the same subject hangs in the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Sweden.
Impasto
Monet's paintings often have rough surfaces with thick layers of built up paint. The term "impasto" describes the technique of applying paint thickly to the canvas or panel. Monet and his impressionist peers did not try to smooth away or diminish the appearance of their brush strokes. The strokes remain clearly visible on the surfaces of their paintings.
Returning to the Same Subjects
Monet frequently returned to the same subjects, painting them over and over again in different kinds of light, at different times of day, and in different seasons. He made many paintings of haystacks, the cliffs at Etretat, and the Rouen Cathedral. Each series demonstrates the changing nature of light, reflections, and the seasons.
