Madame Monet and Her Son
Claude Monet
£25.00
About
In Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son, his skill as a figure painter is equally
evident. Contrary to the artificial conventions of academic portraiture, Monet delineated the
features of his sitters as freely as their surroundings. The spontaneity and naturalness of the
resulting image were praised when it appeared in the second impressionist exhibition in 1876.
Woman with a Parasol was painted outdoors, probably in a single session of several hours' duration.
The artist intended the work to convey the feeling of a casual family outing rather than a formal
portrait, and used pose and placement to suggest that his wife and son interrupted their stroll
while he captured their likenesses. The brevity of the moment portrayed here is conveyed by a
repertory of animated brushstrokes of vibrant color, hallmarks of the style Monet was instrumental
in forming. Bright sunlight shines from behind Camille to whiten the top of her parasol and the
flowing cloth at her back, while colored reflections from the wildflowers below touch her front with
yellow.
