A STROLL INTERRUPTED: Woman With A Parasol by Oscar-Claude Monet

WOMAN WITH A PARASOL, by Oscar-Claude Monet, 1875, Oil on Canvas, THIS PAINTING IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AS A HANDMADE OIL REPRODUCTION FROM 1ST ART GALLERY: https://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Claud... ABOUT THIS PAINTING: You may have heard the term, genre painting. Simply put, a genre painting depicts an everyday activity, done by everyday people. This picture of an unknown woman sewing is a genre painting; this picture of Betsy Ross sewing the flag is not. This work, Woman With A Parasol by Claude Monet is a genre painting. It shows a lady taking a stroll through the countryside with her son. And though we know historically the woman is Monet’s wife, Camille and the boy, Jean, his son, their identity is of no importance to this composition. In fact, you can barely make out her face through her veil, and the boy’s face but several blobs of paint. The painting gives the impression mother and son were interrupted during their walk. In truth they probably stood there several hours while Monet captured the scene on canvas. Monet was positioned on the slope below looking up at the figure on the bluff. We can tell it’s a breezy day from the way her veil is whipping about. In the foreground is a vibrant array of wild flowers covering the hillside. Monet’s juxtaposition of colors and use light is truly impressive. The figure is back lit by the sun and cast in shadow. What artist would actually put their main subject entirely in shadow? Monet would and could. Within the muted greys of the dress are all these bright and vibrant strokes of color. The reflection of the blues of the sky, the yellow of the flowers reflected up in her sleeve, and these great complimentary strokes of purple found throughout. The brightest light in the painting are these highlights found on the back of her dress. This figure of the boy in the painting is important for several reasons. Being in the distance he gives the painting depth, and guides eye of the viewer from the woman diagonally downward, a great compositional technique. This painting was done in 1875. Eleven years later Monet returned to the subject, with these two painting. However, the model was now Monet step-daughter, Suzanne.