Autumn on the Seine, Argenteuil by Claude Monet
Autumn on the Seine, Argenteuil The following is an analysis and an interpretation of Autumn on the Seine, Argenteuil. This oil on canvas painting can be found in the High Museum of Art. Claude Monet, the artist of this piece painted this in 1873, right as the Impressionism Movement was beginning. Monet played the important role of one of the founders of the Impressionism Movement with his works like Autumn on the Seine, Argenteuil. Autumn on the Seine, Argenteuil is from a series of paintings that Monet did while in Argenteuil. In the artwork Autumn on the Seine, Argenteuil, the lighting used throughout the painting, brushstroke techniques, perspective, and color all play an important role in the piece, as well as in the Impressionism Movement. Impressionist artists attempted to capture candid shots of their subjects outdoors showing the effects of sunlight on different objects at different times of day. Claude Monet was no exception to this statement. Like in Claude Monet’s Rouen Cathedral: The Portal (in Sun) (Garnier, 824), sunlight is an important part in scene created in Autumn on the Seine, Argenteuil, though is not the real subject of the piece like it is in Rouen Cathedral: The Portal (in Sun). In Autumn on the Seine, Argenteuil, Claude Monet used darker hues of the colors to capture the light and the absence of light throughout the painting. The sun itself cannot be seen, but the intensity of the colors orange, yellow, white, green, and red throughout the tree suggest that there is some sunlight present. The sky is spotted with clouds almost to the point where you can’t see the sky, but there is some blue still seen through the clouds. Monet was obviously wanting to capture the essence of the Autumn season, and did so with the right use of lighting that would not have been possible without the brushstrokes Monet used. The brushstrokes that are used throughout a painting can help classify what movement the painting may have came out of.