The Artist’s Magazine – October 2019

ArtistsNetwork.com 59

Otherpaintingsfindhimtakingonthedelirious

dazzleofspringsunshine.InLandscapeinIleSaint-

Martin(opposite),a fieldawashinpoppiesgiveswayto

poplarsandhillsundera gloriouslyfreshbluesky.

Monetshiftstheredsandorangesinthepoppiesas

theyrecede,reducingthesaturationastheybecome

moredistant.

Monetencounteredevenmoreextraordinarymotifs

atBordighera,a resortontheItalianRiviera.The

StradaRomanaatBordighera(below)conjuresluxuriant

tropicalgardensencompassingsplendidvillaswiththe

peeksoftheMaritimeAlpsinthebackground.Itwasa

landscapethatMonetfoundalmostbeyondhispowers.

“...I’mgivingmyselfa hardtimeoverit asI haven’tyet

managedtocapturethecolorofthislandscape;”he

wrotetoAlice.“TherearemomentswhenI’mappalled

atthecolorsI’mhavingtouse.I’mafraidwhatI’m

doingisjustdreadful,andyetI reallyamunderstating

it;thelightissimplyterrifying.”

By this time in his career, Monet

had formed the habit of working on

multiple canvases so that he could

move from one to the next as the

light changed. This led quite naturally

to the development of series of paint-

ings focused on the same motif. His

first fully realized series featured

the humble haystack, and he spent

a year painting them near his home

in Giverny under all lighting effects

and in all types of weather.

An 1891 exhibition of the series

was a huge success, both critically

and financially, and from this time

forward, Monet’s finances improved

considerably. Subsequent series

included the views of Rouen Cathedral,

a line of poplar trees near his home

OPPOSITE
Landscape in Ile
Saint-Martin
(Paysage dans I’Île
Saint-Martin)
by Claude Monet
1881; oil on canvas,
28¾ x23⅝
PRIVATE COLLECTION

BELOW
The Strada Romana
at Bordighera
(Strada Romana
à Bordighera)
by Claude Monet
1884; oil on canvas,
26x32⅛
PRIVATE COLLECTION