Musee D'Orsay: Dreams and Reality 2012 (PART 3)

The exhibition was an exciting eye-opener for me because I got to see so many works by artists that I like in real life - so close that I could see every tiny detail on the canvas (although many of the paintings I tried to observe had such fine brushstrokes it was impossible to discern any texture).

In terms of artistic technicality, I was especially fascinated with the work of a few artists whom we learnt about previously in SOVA lessons in the past years.

Here's one by Claude Monet.

Boats: Regatta at Argenteuil (1874), by Claude Monet

Detail of Boats: Regatta at Argenteuil

Detail of Boats: Regatta at Argenteuil

Here he uses divisionism to portray the shimmering reflections of the waves. The composition is interesting because he used the yachts and boats on the horizon to bring out the division between sky and water, which to me look quite similar in this plein-air painting. The darkening of the tones around the sides of the painting to leave a lighter circle in the middle help draw attention to the boats too, especially the largest one in the middle ground (clever use of composition again!). According to Pleinairmuse.com, "A true plein air painting is created in one painting session lasting usually no more than 2 hours." It certainly takes a great deal of skill to be able to capture something of this standard within a short period of time.

I realise that a great deal of attention must have been paid to the colours of the landscape Monet was painting. This painting may not contain much detail, but the colours are the ones which bring out the shapes in this painting. The blocks of orange bring out the houses in the background; the observant application of white in the upper half of the painting become light shining through very realistic clouds in the sky. This then made me think about something we learnt about Monet in SOVA class sometime during Sec 2. Monet suffered from retinal disease and had worsening problems with his sight, and that made him more interested in colour than in detail. He once said something like he just painted the colours he saw, according to the way they were arranged as he saw them, onto the canvas. That is an interesting way to look at painting if we are looking at linking our work to the Impressionist style. It is something that I can draw on if I am going to experiment with painting and employing the Impressionist style to depict my subject matter.

I couldn't help but draw a connection between this work and another of Monet's: Impression, Sunrise (1872).

Impression, Sunrise (1872) by Claude Monet

Like Impression, Sunrise, Boats: Regatta at Argenteuil depicts a single lone figure on a boat with some divisionistic strokes for the waves. Both artworks, painted by the same artist, show the depth of study and observation Monet undertook in his quest to masterfully capture the nuanced reflections and fleeting impressions of light. Both paintings have their differences, such as one in sunrise and another in broad daylight with a background not quite so hazy.  Personally, I prefer Impression, Sunrise to Boats because of the more striking colour tones and hazy-unfinished-ness which contribute to how emotive the piece is. Boats seems to be more of a technical observation, a more normal painting, while Sunrise is to me more unique. The haze Monet achieved by his sketchy brushstrokes depict the slow goings-on of the world in the early hours of the morning, when everything begins to seemingly awake from slumber. The mood is effectively captured in Impression, Sunrise. It is also more interesting because there is a single main subject matter which is striking black and has a clearly defined figure - a man on a boat - in contrast to the hazy background behind and the fluid waves beneath him. Thus, it is more Impressionist than Boats - it more effectively captures a feeling or experience.
However, not the same kind of attention is paid to any single subject matter and hence everything seems to be brought out all at once. This gives the viewer some kind of subtle inner confusion - what should we concentrate on first, after the biggest boat catches our eye? The orange houses on the left, or the many boats on the horizon, or the tiny man at the side in the boat...?

I found a couple of quotes which provides insight into Monet's obsession of capturing nature til it was as close as possible to the original. At points he became discouraged and depressed, tired of the work. But here's one positive uplifting quote that Monet had:

"It really is appallingly difficult to do something which is complete in every respect, and I think most people are content with mere approximations. Well, ... I intend to battle on, scrape off and start again..."-Claude Monet

Here's another one. "I'm never finished with my paintings; the further I get, the more I seek the impossible and the more powerless I feel." To be honest, I think this kind of insecurity is not really that good. The kind of hopelessness these obsessions might bring would be really quite exhausting (it's kind of evident in some of Monet's other "Depression" quotes). However, on the other hand, this drive for perfection would help improve the work. Hopefully.

There are so many other paintings which I want to talk about, but I suppose that I have to use them in Art Critique instead of Exhibitions. 

So to sum it off, Dreams and Reality was a visual feast for art lovers. To see all the Greats from Musee D'Orsay all in one single exhibition ranging from Renaissance to Impressionist was refreshing. Leaving the exhibition, I certainly felt more inspired. The ideas and depth of technical talent the artists exhibited displayed was a driving force for me to do more in art. The museum curators probably knew about the effects the art would have on people, so they set up a mini cafe at the ending-point of the exhibition with paper and pencil so you could draw there. I tried to draw a Renaissance-style person, but we had to go because it was getting late. Also, my bag was running out of space so I passed my drawing to Sharon and requested she keep it. I wonder what's become of it ....

Probably in the incinerator somewhere : \

Because I had so much to say about Dreams and Reality, I separated this entire post into bite-sized  chunks (were they?). Hope readers enjoy the insights!