MAKE A MEME View Large Image When the water-lily paintings were first exhibited, several critics expressed regret at the prospect of his works being dispersed. In view of this, Monet was spurred on once more to complete a decorative series on this theme, which he ...
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Keywords: oil on canvas oiloncanvas paris france outdoor When the water-lily paintings were first exhibited, several critics expressed regret at the prospect of his works being dispersed. In view of this, Monet was spurred on once more to complete a decorative series on this theme, which he described as follows – in the words quoted by the art critic Roger Marx: ‘I was tempted to use this water-lily theme as a decoration for a salon: running along the walls, enveloping all sides with its unity, it would have created the illusion of an endless totality, of a wave without horizon and without shore; nerves overwrought by work would be calmed there, relaxed by the example of these still waters, and to anyone living in it, this room would have offered the sanctuary of peaceful meditation amid a floral aquarium.’ Monet was then able to start working again on his large canvases, which he had already begun, from 1914 onwards. After the Armistice, he decided to make a donation to the French state. From the various panels he chose around forty that he deemed worthy of the gift. Initially envisaged for Hôtel Biron, where the construction of a new pavilion was planned, the decoration would eventually find its home in the Orangerie. The architectural plans involved endless modifications, which finally resulted in a group of 22 paintings, spread over two rooms with 10 and 12 in each. Because of problems with his eyes, the artist refused to deliver the compositions, which he kept constantly retouching, during his lifetime. They were not installed in the Orangerie until after his death, according to the arrangements specified by Monet himself. The official opening took place on 17 May 1927. When the water-lily paintings were first exhibited, several critics expressed regret at the prospect of his works being dispersed. In view of this, Monet was spurred on once more to complete a decorative series on this theme, which he described as follows – in the words quoted by the art critic Roger Marx: ‘I was tempted to use this water-lily theme as a decoration for a salon: running along the walls, enveloping all sides with its unity, it would have created the illusion of an endless totality, of a wave without horizon and without shore; nerves overwrought by work would be calmed there, relaxed by the example of these still waters, and to anyone living in it, this room would have offered the sanctuary of peaceful meditation amid a floral aquarium.’ Monet was then able to start working again on his large canvases, which he had already begun, from 1914 onwards. After the Armistice, he decided to make a donation to the French state. From the various panels he chose around forty that he deemed worthy of the gift. Initially envisaged for Hôtel Biron, where the construction of a new pavilion was planned, the decoration would eventually find its home in the Orangerie. The architectural plans involved endless modifications, which finally resulted in a group of 22 paintings, spread over two rooms with 10 and 12 in each. Because of problems with his eyes, the artist refused to deliver the compositions, which he kept constantly retouching, during his lifetime. They were not installed in the Orangerie until after his death, according to the arrangements specified by Monet himself. The official opening took place on 17 May 1927.
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