Monet's 1872 painting of Le Havre harbor, Impression Sunrise, is a painting I only discovered yesterday. But it only took one look to amaze me. I'm not necessarily a big Monet fan (my tastes run more modern - abstract expressionism to be specific) and I'm a little late to the party on this one but it's "ridiculously awesome."
3 comments:
What is so "ridiculously awesome" about it? Seriously, I'm curious.
First, the color choices and balance provide a great sense of the sunrise and the early morning sky tones. When you contrast that with the black used for the boats you add a sense of solitude that heightens the sunrise motif. The brush strokes are incredibly light and sparse to ensure the painting doesn't lose itself under its own weight. There is also a circular motion of composition from the boats to the left and up into the sky again tying into the sunrise theme. I could go on with the color choice for the sun and how it doesn't override the rest of the painting's tone. It's much more abstract that impressionistic to me. I can't find it online, but another painting by Monet of a room all in red supposedly was a great inspiration for Rothko.
I agree. Beautiful piece.
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