Poplars Claude Monet Date: 1891 Style: Impressionism Genre: landscape
Similarly to the Haystacks and the Rouen Cathedral Series, Monet captures the poplars during different seasons and times of day. The harmonies that defined the mood as cool, hot, or neutral in those previous chapters reappear, but in a more mellow, relaxed interpretation. It seems that the sheer amount of air caught between the “prison bars,” all assisted by a dose of streaming linear dynamism, prevents a condensation of atmosphere that made the earth in Haystacks and the stone in Rouen seem so pulsating and intense. While the canopies absorb and reflect the sun, the space as a whole usually remains neutral and calm. The flowering “S,” orange, green, or dark bluish, curves along the expanse of the sky in a deliberate, sweeping fashion.
This Wikipedia article on the Poplar Series describes a curious anecdote that once again demonstrates the artist’s dedication to his art. Apparently, the trees were meant to be cut down before Monet could complete the paintings; he bought the poplars to prevent their untimely demise — eventually reselling them to a lumber merchant. Perhaps he felt he did enough for the trees by perpetuating them on canvas.
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