The Faithful Impressionist

When I think of Impressionism I think of Monet, and it’s not just his preference for painting finished landscapes in the countryside and not in his studio. A revolutionary practice at the time. It’s not even his vivid colours that drenched every corner of his canvases, even the shadow areas.

What sets this artist apart from his contemporaries, even his friends and fellow Impressionists, is his total commitment to the Impressionist style.

When Renior was getting tired of broken colours and sun drenched landscapes, was painting important commissioned portraits and large figure compositions in a decidedly classical style, Monet stuck to his sketchy broken brushwork and vivid colours.

When Pissarro was experimenting with Georges Seurat’s optically mixed dots, Monet was still doing standard Impressionist canvases.

By the end of the 19th Century Monte's style was being called old fashioned and even, ‘Academic,’ an accusation that would have horrified the youthful Monet, then he was derided by real academic artists, who thought Monet was a joke, the guy who painted daubs and had the nerve to submit them to the Salon. Their sacred place, reserved for official artists with medals and titles and artistic pretentious to match.