Claude Monet was born in Paris in 1840 and studied in the Academie Suisse. Known as a father of Impressionism, when a critic in an art exhibition in 1874 contemptuously dubbed his painting style as ‘Impression’ as it concentrated on form and light then realism and the term struck forever. Monet tried to capture the essence of the natural world by using strong colours, and bold short brushstrokes. The Impressionists were turning away from the blended colours and evenness of classical art. He is best known today for his series of ‘Water Lilies’. The artist struggled with depression, poverty and illness throughout his life and died in 1926.

‘Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies’ (Nymphéas in French) (1899), oil on canvas, 36 ½ inches x 29 inches, is part of a series of approximately 250 oil paintings. The artist was very inspired by the beauty of the French village Giverny and he rented a house there in 1890 and built his own garden and a quaint Japanese-style bridge. He painted the bridge 17 times in that year and each painting reflects changes in lighting and weather conditions. It is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. — M.Z.A.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, July 24th, 2016