Impressed on Impressionists

Throughout human evolution there has been attempts of using artwork to portray a thought, instruction, or even historical event. Early drawings were in caves, presumably by indigenous people we typically call Indians, to those that date these people called cavemen. As humans have evolved, so too have the techniques of putting to paper or canvas, ideas in their minds, or even something as inspirational as the gardens they grew and environment they enjoyed. Medieval artisans used their hands to create realistic forms of art. Paintings were of actual objects, or lifelike portrayals of battles and even religious content such as those of Jesus. But in the mid 19th century, a new group of painters and sculptors emerged; the impressionists. These artists are so named because they did not particularly paint exact objects or photographs of what they saw. They painted in ways that gave the view an "impression" of what they were attempting to portray. And in that vain, their artwork were open to several different interpretations.

Today, we were privileged to visit Musee d'Orsay, Museum of Orsay, a museum of impressionists. Artists such as Claud Monet (my personal favorite), Renoir, Rodin, Gauguin, Manet, and even Matisse. Many of the artworks we were able to see were similar to those that are in the United States National Art Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. So there were many that we thought we had seen, when in reality, the impressionists had made several types of the same painting, exploring lighting and even the use of color as the progression of the paintings were made.

As I noted, Monet is my favorite. According to the audio tour we used at the Musee d'Orsay, Monet made over 500 paintings. Today these paintings are sold at auction for as much as 75 million dollars. But if we take an average, his full collection is worth something on the order of 25 billion dollars. That's not a typo. Unfortunately Monet never saw such wealth, but he evidently did well enough to be able to build his last home, fill it with various gardens and use them as inspirations for his work to impress upon viewers what he found to be grand.