In April while in Rouen, Normandy, I was enthusiastic to see
the Rouen Cathedral, which inspired Claude Monet (1840-1926) to create his
greatest series of paintings. Between
1892 and 1894 Monet painted over 30 canvasses depicting the cathedral’s façade
at various times of day, including various lighting conditions and times of
year.
During the two years Monet worked on this series he rented
three apartments across the street from the cathedral on the second floor above
some shops. Working on many canvasses
each day Monet moved from easel to easel as the light and time of day changed.
All the paintings in the series were created in Rouen, but many were finished
in Monet’s studio in Giverny.
The compositions are tight and allow the façade to dominate
the picture plane. Monet varies his
palette to reflect the changing light, ranging from monochromatic to analogous
to complimentary color harmonies that vibrate and shimmer. Monet’s application
of the paint is thick and sculptural adding to the weight of the canvasses.
Critics and artists praised the series when 20 of the canvasses
were exhibited in Paris in1895. The
success was not without struggle as Monet stated, “Color is my day-long
obsession, joy and torment”. Indeed,
Monet experienced nightmares during the process.
Today art collectors and museums covet these 30 canvasses. They are spread around the globe with most of
them in the United States and France.
Sadly, only one of the paintings remains in Rouen at the Musee des BeauxArts.
Many artists have been influenced by Monet’s Rouen Cathedral
series, including pop artist Roy Lichtenstein who created a series of five
paintings featuring the famous façade.
I have included a few of Monet's Rouen Cathedral series here for your viewing pleasure. To see all the paintings please visit the ArtWolf’s website.
Rouen Cathedral, Gray Weather, 1894 by Claude Monet, Musee des Beaux Arts, Rouen
.JPG)
Rouen Cathedral, Grey and Rose, 1982, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, UK
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