Woman with a parasol by Claude Monet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Woman with a parasol by Claude Monet - Essay Example Though in this picture the subject matter is Camille and Jean, Monet manages to counteract the convention of creating a central form of interest, creating instead a vibrant sensation of light and movement throughout the picture, and therein lies his individual brilliance in the treatment of the subject at hand. For most of his pictures, as with this one, â€Å"Monet suggests transience metaphorically, through the formal means at his disposal. He plays on your emotions with color and tonality, ........ Monet ignores the time-honored convention of the center of interest, weighing every portion of his canvas equally with an accumulation of discrete, subtly inflected events†. Just as her shadow anchors her to the ground and her parasol with its handle provides an anchor to the eye, the green in its underside strongly echoes the green of the grass in front of her, planting her firmly in the picture, and providing the required balance. This brings us to the remarkable artistry of Mo net in the use of color, He was a devotee of color, to the extent that he had almost banished black from his canvas. Monet had scientifically studied color, especially Professor Rood's experiments in color, and had come to understand how different colors were affected by sunlight. â€Å"Aided by the experiments of the scientists and by his own keen observation, he discovered certain facts which had escaped the notice of less keen eyes unaided by science; for example, that green, seen under strong sunshine, is not green, but yellow.; that the shadows cast by sunlight upon snow or upon brightly lighted surfaces are not black, but blue; and that a white dress, seen under the shade of trees on a bright day, has