Water Lilies by Claude Monet - 1907 - 92.1 × 81.2 cm Museum of Fine Arts Water Lilies by Claude Monet - 1907 - 92.1 × 81.2 cm Museum of Fine Arts

Water Lilies

oil on canvas • 92.1 × 81.2 cm
  • Claude Monet - 14 November 1840 - 5 December 1926 Claude Monet 1907

On this day in 1840, Claude Monet, one of the artists who revolutionized art history, was born. Time to present a painting from one of his most famous series (which is also some of the most beloved works of the 20th century):  Water Lilies.

Monet created the series in his house in Giverny, France. He purchased it in 1890 and greatly expanded the water lily pond at the bottom of the garden. Millions of people every year make the pilgrimage to France to visit Monet's house, where the gardens served as inspiration for hundreds of the artist's paintings. 

The version of Water Lilies we present today was part of a first concentrated campaign by Monet to capture the delicate blooms at different times of the day, under different atmospheric conditions. When, after much hesitation, he exhibited a suite of 48 water lily paintings in 1909 at the Paris gallery of his art dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, the series became an enormous financial, popular, and critical success. In conjunction with that exhibition, Monet was asked to define the essence of his art. "The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration," he said. "Perhaps my originality boils down to my capacity as a hypersensitive receptor, and to the expediency of a shorthand by means of which I project onto a canvas, as if onto a screen, impressions registered on my retina."

P.S. Claude Monet painted not only the Water Lilies series; you can read about the most popular motifs in his series.  <3

P.P.S. Of course Claude Monet is present in our DailyArt 2023 Calendars; they are perfect for every art lover!  :)