Monet's Trees

Ralph Skea

ISBN 10: 0500239401 / ISBN 13: 9780500239407

Published by Thames and Hudson Ltd, GB, 2015

About this Item

'I perhaps owe it to flowers', wrote Claude Monet (1840-1926), 'that I became a painter.' One of the leading figures of the Impressionist movement and perhaps the most celebrated landscape painter of his age, Monet dedicated his life to capturing the subtleties of the natural world. Trees - willows enveloped in the eerie mists of the Seine, palm trees beneath the bright Mediterranean sun or poplars heavily laden with snow - became a significant motif in his work, and he used them to experiment with an extraordinary variety of tones and colours. Ralph Skea's account is split into five main chapters, each focusing on a different theme: Monet's earliest drawings and paintings of trees; his atmospheric use of rivers and coastlines, from the English Channel to the Italian Riviera; the fields, farmlands and orchards of France; parks and gardens in both the city and the countryside, including his series of paintings featuring trees reflected in his water-lily pond; and his muted depictions of trees in winter. The result is a succint and highly accessible exploration of some of the best-loved landscapes in art.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780500239407

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Monet's Trees
• Publisher: Thames and Hudson Ltd, GB
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0500239401
• ISBN 13: 9780500239407
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 520 grams

About this title

Synopsis

A powerful testament to the ephemeral beauty of nature from one of the best-loved and most-influential landscape painters of the last 150 years

“I perhaps owe it to flowers,” wrote Claude Monet (1840–1926), “that I became a painter.” His fascination with trees, while perhaps of equal intensity, is less well-documented. One of the leading figures of the Impressionist movement and perhaps the most celebrated landscape painter of his age, Monet dedicated his life to capturing the subtleties of the natural world. Trees―willows enveloped in the eerie mists of the Seine, palm trees beneath the bright Mediterranean sun, poplars heavily laden with snow―became a significant motif in his work, and he used them to experiment with an extraordinary variety of tones and colors. Ralph Skea explores Monet’s depictions of trees across more than seventy works, including finished oil paintings and more fleeting sketches in oil, pastel, and pencil.

The book is divided into five main chapters, each focusing on a different theme: Monet’s earliest drawings and paintings of trees; his atmospheric use of rivers and coastlines from England to Italy; the fields, farmlands, and orchards of France; parks and gardens in both the city and the countryside; and his muted depictions of trees in winter. Skea’s introduction draws together these threads, putting them in the context of Monet’s œuvre as a whole and tracing his artistic development. 84 illustrations

About the Author

Ralph Skea was for many years a senior lecturer in European urban conservation at the University of Dundee, Scotland. He is the author of Vincent’s Gardens, Vincent’s Trees, Monet’s Trees, and Vincent’s Portraits.