CHARING CROSS BRIDGE, OVERCAST DAY

Claude Monet (1900)

"Paint what you really see, not what you think you ought to see; not the object isolated as in a test tube, but the object enveloped in sunlight and atmosphere, with the blue dome of Heaven reflected in the shadows" - Claude Monet

In Claude Monet's painting, Charing Cross Bridge, Overcast Day, we can see the sentiment that he provides in the above quote put to tremendous use. Despite the fog that encompasses the bridge on this particular cloudy day in 1900, glimmers of golden light reflect off the water, and a spectrum of blues and purples fill the canvas.

Monet painted this, along with many other views of the Charing Cross Bridge, during his stay in London at the turn of the 20th Century. He reflected principles of Impressionism by showering the bridge in different lights. Some of the skies have deep oranges and yellows in sunset, while others are green and turquoise in the morning light.

Arguably the most influential Impressionist, Monet also used visible brushstrokes, and strong feelings of movement to influence the tone of this piece, both of which as keystones in the Impressionist ideal.

By painting so many pieces of this particular bridge, he spotlighted something seemingly plain and ordinary, and made it art.

Rue Gauguet by Nicolas Staël

The image above is a picture of Nicolas Staël's painting Rue Gauguet. Named after the street the artist's studio was on. One of the most important things to keep in mind while looking at this image above is that the original painting is much larger, 78 1/2 x 94 5/8 inches. Painted by the Russian artist in France. This painting is oil paint on wood panel and was painted in 1949.

This work is one of my favorites because it leaves the viewer with more questions after seeing it then it answers. What is it's subject? What is this piece telling me?

While looking at this work I was thinking about McCloud's idea of Realism to Abstraction and this work falls heavily on the Abstraction side. There are no elements in the work that resemble anything of the world outside of this painting. Another thing that is not as apparent in the image above is the amount of thick layers of manipulated paint there are on this surface. The most interesting part about looking at this painting for me was getting up close to see the textures and different tones and colors buried under the surface and in the separations between sections of color.

The Pink Cloud of Antibes

Painting: Antibes, The Pink Cloud (1916)
Artist: Paul Signac

This was one of the many paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts that really caught my attention. Considered to be stylistically post-impressionism, this French artist draws the viewer in through an interesting use of brushstrokes to create an almost perfect balance between resemblance and abstraction. I first noticed the hundreds of small rectangular brushstrokes used to "thatch" together an image that is certainly distinguishable. A sail boat sits on a lake rendered unimportant by the very large pink cloud looming over what could be mountains in the background.

It's extremely important to note the use of color in the painting. At first glance, one might say that this is a fairly simple painting, and it is until you really study the complex relationship of colors. Each individual brushstroke plays an import role in shaping how the viewer perceives the image. The cloud is indeed pink (notice how it is carefully reflected by the lake and the distortion of the sail boat's own reflection in the water), but it is also many different shades of red, yellow, and orange. This could mean that the scene is set during a sunrise, making it a very peaceful and relaxed painting. However, the same use of color creates an interesting juxtaposition as the cloud appears to be emerging from the surface and not hanging from the sky. One could argue that the cloud is the result of some sort of explosion. Signac painted this in the year of 1916, two years after the start of World War I; on January 29th of that same year, Paris was bombed by German zeppelins. Perhaps this was the inspiration behind the painting and Signac was attempting to convey the delicate balance between life and death... beauty and disaster.

Going to the MFA

Today we have class at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. We'll take my superfast sprint through Western art history, using some of the concepts to which Scott McCloud has introduced us. And see with our own eyes some of the paintings that we have been analyzing through digitized projections in our classroom. Exciting all around.