Monet's Series Paintings and Impressionism on the Coast.

Jake: Monet's Series Paintings

In the mid to late 1800’s Monet began to work more and more frequently on groups of work that he called “series.” While the use of the word “series”, in that context, had been used before, it was Monet who popularized it. The three most commercially successful artists of the Impressionists were Monet, Renoir and Degas. Despite their differences in subject, style, and process, Monet, Renoir and Degas all shared an “acute sense of business self-interest.” Monet began to apply business tactics to his art and found huge success. By the end of his life, he was the most famous of all the Impressionists.

As early as 1877 Monet began working on collective groups of paintings that were later designated as “series.” Following the return from his year-long hiatus in 1890, Monet released his first clearly identified “series” - “Haystacks.”  

Monet’s growing obsession with light, and the effect that it can have on objects, is very prevalent in this series. Without indicating a metaphor or meaning, he focuses primarily on showing his experience in a specific moment in time.  None of the pieces in the series have an identifiable sequential order, angle, feeling, weather, or time of day. They are simply a group of paintings of haystacks behind his house painted to perfection. With the use of insanely intricate brushwork and mastered observation, Monet develops his image.

 

Going back his studio, he then adds layer after layer until the viewer can see each individual piece of hay overlapping the other.  With his use of vibrant colors in cohesion, Monet creates the illuminating factor that brings not only the sight of the painting to life, but also, the feeling. Looking at “Grainstack (Sunset)” we can almost feel the warmth of the sun as if from our own memory. 

His release of this series was very financially successful. As a result, in 1890 Monet decided once and for all to never return to group showings.

 

After changing direction, Monet painted a list of famous series including: “Rouen Cathedral,” “Poplars,” “Water Lilies,” “House of Parliament,” and “Morning on the Seine.” Monet was quoted with saying “More than ever I’m disgusted with the things that come easily in one go. I am more and more obsessed by the need to render what I experience” in 1890. Clearly he meant those words because he represented them with action for the rest of his life.

So began his “serial practicing,” which he received a lot of criticism for over the years for. Critics and fellow artists often voiced that his series were commercially motivated and, therefore, were not truly artistically directed. 


There may be some truth to this theory. It was well-known in the artist community that Monet would orchestrate rhetoric surrounding his showcases. Instead of waiting for individual critics to come out and speak openly, Monet would hand-pick critics to discuss his pieces. This, as one can imagine, may have given an artificial tinge to the public discussion surrounding his work. Despite the negative criticism that the series received, artists like Pissarro and a few others began to follow in Monet’s footsteps. Pissarro, however, focused more on the bustle and real-life of the city. He was often directed towards subjects that expressed his anarchist views and therefore ended up at very different subject matter than Monet. “The Stone Bridge in Rouen” Series, for instance, shows his attempt at depicting the commotion of the waterfront life of working and shipping. With this style, Pissarro helped direct Impressionist art towards a more symbolic direction that is reflected in modern art.

                 

In the period of 1877 to 1890, the prices of Monet’s paintings went from 150 francsto 15,000 francs each. Reviewers stated that his paintings echoed the feeling of music and that they could display an “unceasing flow of changing sensations.”  Monet had certainly achieved massive artistic success at this period in his life and continued on that path till his death.