"Claude Monet at the National Gallery of Art"
             Claude Monet is most definately my favorite Painter of all time. Widely considered the foremost Impressionist painter, Monet inspired Masters like Degas and Renoir. Monet's paintings, characterized by their blurred lines, quick brush strokes and interpretation of light, capture the essence of the subject without the harsh realism of previous centuries.
             Earlier on in his career Monet's paintings attempted to catch the momentary light and mobility of his subject. His paintings were done quickly and almost completely outdoors. As his career progressed, he became increasingly fascinated with the atmosphere. Late in his career Monet devoted himself to painting one subject ten, twenty or thirty times. Repeating subjects so that he could show the continuous atmosphere generated by his landscapes.
             The Display I saw of Monet's was at the National Gallery of art. This one small gallery in a huge museum has drawn me repeatedly over the year. The dozen or so paintings have captured me for hours. They are mainly later works, and one out of a series of paintings. I will examine the five paintings that caught my attention the most. Each is a testimony to the individual style of Monet. The first I looked at was "The Waterloo Bridge: Grey Day" painted in 1903. When I first walked into the room and looked at this painting all I saw was gray. That is what the painting is, Grey. It is a landscape of a suburban bridge (The Waterloo bridge, France) with a city in the background. This Picture does no credit to the real thing, but it will do.
             Copyright ©2000 National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
             The true brilliance of the painting is that for highlights and low lights Monet did not use grays or browns, typical for showing a foggy day. Instead, he used Pinks, lavenders and a brilliant scarlet to represent the traffic crossing...