"Monet sometimes worked up to sixty times on the same picture. ... myth of Monet's apparently mindless spontaneity...One of the reasons Monet's paintings resonate so strongly with viewers is that they don't tell us the whole story. They don't dictate exactly what we see, but allow scope of interpretation, for individuals to see different things. His paintings enable us to make up our own stories as we decide what we're looking at.
"Monet's painting was the product of a consciousness deeply committed to its own material and emotional resources and aware that viewers, to one degree or another, had resources as well."
From Monet and Modernism, page 137.
That his paintings look spontaneous, done in no time at all, doesn't mean they were created that way, though it's a fact many beginner artists don't want to hear nor believe. Deceptive simplicity, considered reduction of detail, multi-layered colors. Paintings do not get slapped out in an hour and be at the level of Monet's.
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Comments
I share the same feelings in front of paintings of Pierre Bonnard.
Here is a wonderful site in which we can find “Bonnard” when we write his name in “search”.
http://www.phillipscollection.org/collection/index.aspx
Bonnard doesn’t often do it for me, though I’ve never been able to put my finger on quite why this is. It might be his subject matter rather than style.
In Bonnard, the problem maybe is that his landscapes lack of air: no circulation of air, only vibration of colors into clear-cut surfaces;but no presence of air, a bit like in comics. Nevertheless what I like are the subtle richness and ingeniousness of his colors and textures.
A very fine observation! Thank you!! Monet (and Turner) both paint the “atmosphere” as well as the solid elements.