Contrasting Views on The Painting Style of Claude Monet

During the time both when Claude Monet was alive and now dead, he has had many opinions by different audiences. Some have been positive but some have also been critical. This was due to at the time of his original works, impressionism was still frowned upon. This was because if one was an artist he was expected to paint in realism as this was the current and most popular art movement at this time. When Monet painted he disobeyed this expectation from society and painted for the love and for the peaceful emotion portrayed in his works.

Kathryn Hughes, from The Guardian, 2016, says “critics described the Grande Décoration as ''serene”... But if we’re being honest, we might also call them clammy and uncanny”. This is an example of one kind of audience. Hughes is one of many who see Claude Monet’s artworks to be bizarre and uncomfortable. This is due to the chopy brush stroke technique and almost rushed feeling towards it. However the audience may also see the art as being clammy as the colours of the subjects do blend together more often than is usually seen in other paintings, due to cataracts in Monet's eyes.

Although some find Oscar-Claude Monet’s paintings uncomfterble, there are also viewers who do not appreciate the art for what it is. When impressionism was first appearing through art, Monet was displaying his first famous paintings when Louis Learo commented, saying “They look like unfinished sketches and not real artworks”. This is an example of how some people view Monet's art. This opinion mainly arises as at this time the main style of painting that was greatly appreciated was realism. Thus if one painted in another style it was greatly frowned upon. Therefore some people did not appreciate Monet's paintings.

As many art critics and reporters who do not like or appreciate Claude Monet’s paintings, there are plenty of people who adore his works. Navdeep Dhillon is an example of a viewer whom adored and fell in love with the ‘Bridge Over a Pond of Waterlilies’, by Monet. She said ‘The place is mesmerising’ and ‘The water-lily pond is magical!’. This shows how much this painting does impact people. Within her review she persuades the readers to visit the painting as she said it was worth while. She had never seen anything like it, and was amazed with the emotional effect and impact it had on her. Dhillon amongst others, love Monet’s paintings as they give the feeling of peace and harmony.

In 1996, only 70 years after the passing of Oscar-Claude Monet, an exhibition review was written by Charles Stuckey. Stuckey as another example of the audience that is amazed by anything and everything the onet does. Charles Stuckey says “One of the greatest artists of all time”, showing the admiration some people have for the talent that lies within Monet.

Overall, there are many different point of views and opinions towards both Claude Monet and the art movement he was a part of, Impressionism. Some of these opinions were positive and appreciative and some were critical and confused. However no matter the reaction the different audiences had towards Claude Monet’s artworks and art movement. Monet had an impact on them all.