“Thanks to water, [Monet] has become the painter of what we cannot see. He addresses that invisible spiritual surface that separates light from reflection. Airy azure captive of liquid azure … Color rises from the bottom of the water in clouds, in whirlpools.”
My family and I visited L’Orangerie in Paris to see Claude Monet’s Water Lilies paintings. The exhibit is stunning, and these are my photographs of the Water Lilies.
We traveled from Prague to Paris for a getaway in the West last weekend, and we walked along the Seine, through the Tuileries Gardens, and around the Eiffel Tower and Arc D’ Triumph and Trocodero. We had mass at the Notre Dame on Ile d’Cite, and visited the Musée de l’Orangerie in Jardin des Tuileries, which was my favorite in all of Paris, even after visiting the city many times. It was my first time in Musee de L’Orangerie and it was a thrilling highlight for me.
Monet’s Water Lilies, L’Orangerie, Paris
As far back as I can remember, Claude Monet has been one of my favorite artists; his Impressionistic style has always resonated, deeply. Last weekend, on this first visit to L’Orangerie, my love for Monet’s art has grown exponentially.
It is difficult to explain in mere words the substantive presentation of Monet’s Les Nympheas (The Water Lilies) … so I’m including several photographs, along with quotes from Monet, to better portray his masterpieces and their sheer beauty.
“It took me time to understand my waterlilies. I had planted them for the pleasure of it; I grew them without ever thinking of painting them.” -Claude Monet
“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.”
“I can only draw what I see.”
“Everything I have earned has gone into these gardens.” (on his gardens at Giverny)
“Colour is my day-long obsession, joy and torment.”
“It took me time to understand my waterlilies. I had planted them for the pleasure of it; I grew them without ever thinking of painting them.
“I know that to paint the sea really well, you need to look at it every hour of every day in the same place so that you can understand its way in that particular spot and that is why I am working on the same motifs over and over again, four or six times even.”
“It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way. So we must dig and delve unceasingly.”
Starting the Discussion: What art inspires you? Who is your favorite artist? Do you have a favorite art museum you go to for inspiration?
