Monet and the Impressionists

[Okey Dokey]

I went to see this exhibit last month and I have been looking on the world with new eyes ever since. What beautiful paintings! The y seemed to glow on the wall before me. Now i notice scenes and colours everyday around me (no drugs involved)

Its funny, I never really knew anything about "ART", but I swotted up a little before going to this show and it has really made a difference to my appreciation. Has anyone else had a revelation like this?

[SixPackBack]

Oh yeah.... http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/album.php?albumid=95

[Big Dave]

[Ixion]

A most unlikely topic of discussion on a biker forum surely. Still, we have had antimaccassars and lace doilies before now.

I went to the Monet exhibition some years ago, and was MOST impressed with the capture of the light in his "Haystacks". Quite remarkable.

Mrs Ixion is an enormous Monet fan. I prefer Turner, myself.

[Nasty]

Have to agree the haystacks are awesome .. some of the work there was stunning ... you could almost loose yourself in the painting.

[Indiana_Jones]

Not Monet, or an impressionist.

I'm related to this fellow apprently

-Indy

[Big Dave]

[anonbiker]

Yeah Monet was definitely good. The best paintings were definitely those ones around the back. The church, river and mountain scenes. Pretty psychedelic.

[James Deuce]

Monet's perception of light seems to be down to his cataracts.

It's interesting to compare his early work with his late stuff with an opthamologist to hand.

[Maha]

All paintings look the same these days beacause they are painted to a romantic ideal rather than as a true depiction of the idiosyncratic wonderous quality of what the artist interprets as his/hers over all view.

[Pussy]

Its funny, I never really knew anything about "ART

I was the same, OD, until I saw an exhibition of Frida Kahlo originals

[Indiana_Jones]

All paintings look the same these days beacause they are painted to a romantic ideal rather than as a true depiction of the idiosyncratic wonderous quality of what the artist interprets as his/hers over all view.

Well, your cousin Bert obviously has a larger vocabulary than you, Baldrick.

-Indy

[Okey Dokey]

All paintings look the same these days beacause they are painted to a romantic ideal rather than as a true depiction of the idiosyncratic wonderous quality of what the artist interprets as his/hers over all view.

Yes, Monet in particular was really insistent on painting what he SAW, the image before his eyes. He caught a lot of flack from the establishment of the time because of this.

Another poster mentioned the contrast between when his vision was quite bad, and after he had his cataracts removed, and it was so evident. The painting of the cathedral was a standout for me; when you were close to it (where Monet would have been standing to paint it), it was very "vague" looking. Then when you viewed it from across the room, it was a beautiful image of a cathedral in misty morning light. THEN when you went about 2 rooms away it looked almost like a photo of the same scene, such was the accuracy of the composition. All I can say is wow. Clever guy.

[vifferman]

Well, I must be the odd one out, because I was rather underwhelmed by the Monet exhibition, although I did like a couple of the paintings. When we got home, I was looking for one of the paintings on the Interdweeb, and was amazed at how many paintings he had done (hundreds!), and how wonderful some of them were compared to those in the Te Papa exhibit.

I'm not a philistine - I had a wonderful time at the Louvre last year, and also at the Paul Getty Centre in Los Angeles (which is fantastic, and FREE). I just thought that after queuing for nearly an hour it wasn't as impressive as I was expecting it to be.

[Okey Dokey]

You are not the first person I've heard comment on this, v-man. I haven't been to the Louvre or seen works like this before, so I guess it all depends. I was glad to get this "taste", and would definitely go to another exhibit that came so close to home.

And I didn't have to queue- a man sold me the ticket at the end of the day prior. I was first in the next morning- just me and the paintings for a second!