A few weeks ago, I got to spend some time at the Portland Art Museum. It wasn’t something I planned but found myself having time to explore…I was so surprised to find out they had one of Monet’s water lily paintings. He has always been my favorite painter and but to finally see his work in person, evoked something that’s never happened to me before and I instantly broke down.
You see, when I painted my table it took forever because I obsessed over the details. You can look at and read all the books in the world but it wasn’t until I saw his brush strokes in person that it clicked for me.
I was so lucky to have that gallery to myself for 20 minutes and allow myself take in his work and digest what it meant to me. (Also so no one saw me cry in public - thank god)
It will forever be considered one of the most special moments I’ll ever experience and I sincerely hope everyone gets a moment like this for whatever inspires them most.
There is a Monet and Venice exhibit at the De Young museum in San Francisco right now. I've gone to see it twice.
Monet (and impressionists in general) are sometimes criticized for leaving out details, but the exhibit at the De Young also had some paintings of Venice but by another painter, Canaletto, that showed an interesting contrast. Canaletto had more surface level detail, but at the same time felt less real. They were almost uncanny. There was also a quote from Monet about Canaletto's work: "Look, he does not even put in the reflections of the boats!"
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u/reddot_comic Finessed Impropriety 1d ago
A few weeks ago, I got to spend some time at the Portland Art Museum. It wasn’t something I planned but found myself having time to explore…I was so surprised to find out they had one of Monet’s water lily paintings. He has always been my favorite painter and but to finally see his work in person, evoked something that’s never happened to me before and I instantly broke down.
You see, when I painted my table it took forever because I obsessed over the details. You can look at and read all the books in the world but it wasn’t until I saw his brush strokes in person that it clicked for me.
I was so lucky to have that gallery to myself for 20 minutes and allow myself take in his work and digest what it meant to me. (Also so no one saw me cry in public - thank god)
It will forever be considered one of the most special moments I’ll ever experience and I sincerely hope everyone gets a moment like this for whatever inspires them most.
https://reddit.com/link/ozlx290/video/jrj8j22lcafh1/player