Claude Monet
Today is the first day of Summer! What could be better on this day than one of the most summerish paintings that Claude Monet ever created?
Monet planted gardens wherever he lived. Upon renting a house in Vétheuil, he negotiated with the landlord to landscape the terraced gardens descending to the Seine. The boy with the wagon depicted is Monet's young son, accompanied by other members of his household on the steps behind him.
In this vertically composed, loosely brushed painting, the child stands on a sunlit path bordered by towering sunflowers in shades of yellow and burnt orange. The illumination from the right casts long shadows in sea-green and plum-purple across the peach-hued path. The path, broad at the canvas's lower center, tapers towards the steps leading to a house set beyond the garden. Near the foreground, four blue and white porcelain urns flank the path, filled with coral-pink and cardinal-red blooms, and separate it from the lush green banks. A few brushstrokes near the child may be a small dog. Behind the child, a woman and another youngster are visible on the steps. Above the house, the sky hosts fluffy white clouds against a vivid blue backdrop ...
P.S. Monet often depicted family members; the portrait of Madame Monet and Her Son (Woman with a Parasol) is the most famous. You can buy our premium-quality print reproduction in the DailyArt Shop. :)
P.P.S. Take a look inside Monet's famous house and garden in Giverny, which inspired so many of his iconic paintings!