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Though he did not live in the same age as many of the famous artists, Claude Monet carved out a niche for himself amongst all of them nonetheless. Whilst the masters dappled in a lot of things and have several titles to their credit along with that of an artist, Monet had only one dream and one vision - to become an artist. He had no hunger for credit or praise; he just wanted to have the freedom to paint things that he loved.
But this too was an expensive dream to have during his lifetime and for the
larger part of his life Monet was plagued by financial troubles. Though in dire
straits, this did not deter him from reaching his goal and he painted till the
end of his days.
Probably one of the most important impressionists of all times, he derived
his inspiration from a variety of sources. In fact, he admired the work of Manet,
with whom he was frequently confused because of having similar names. The dominant
theme in almost all of his works has been nature itself and in an age when artists
were involved and preoccupied in discovering the various facets to the nude
human body, he chose to turn to a larger muse - nature.
His last work was a series of painting that were centered around and inspired
by water lilies. Though this was the theme, the creations themselves were ambiguous
and not rigid. The brushwork is strong and the broad strokes help the viewer
to visualize the beauty of the motifs. Like all his previous works, the effect
of natural light is very prominent in this series too and the water ripples
seem to break out near your feet - such is the power of the work. Monet has
mastered the art of perfect camouflage and there are times when you loose sight
of certain movement, only to let it catch you by surprise. There is nothing
calculated, nothing intentional about these paintings - the whole beauty lies
in the fact that it is so unadulterated and seems unintended.
A fitting end to a lovely career spanning his entire lifetime.
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