Comparison Of Van Gogh’s And Claude Monet’s Styles Of Painting
In the year 1904, Claude Monet painted the 3x3 inch Houses of Parliament: Effect of Fog, London painting- one of the many from his Houses of Parliament series. The oil on canvas painting, found in the St. Petersburg, Florida Museum of Fine Arts, is a clear representation of the 19th-century Impressionism movement.
Monet, a leading figure among the Impressionists, was famous for his practice of repainting the same scene to effectively capture the changing effects of light. His approach towards art portrayed a realistic style in which he would recreate a scene with an emphasis on the aesthetic significance of natural light. Unlike the post-impressionists who valued emotion through the form of art, Monet and the Impressionists attempted to convey the fleeting beauty of nature within their artwork. The purpose of this painting was to illustrate how the scenery - the Houses of Parliament - changed due to the effects of the fog. The beauty of Monet’s method to achieve this effect lies in his use of atmospheric perspective. His consistent use of cool colors provided an illusion of depth through distance. Furthermore, the lack of detail allowed the artist to produce a misty setting and better portray the thick fog which enveloped the cityscape.
Monet also used a lower value to create what seemed like silhouettes of people in boats and the parliament building. This subtle gradation of value is accomplished through the modeling technique. The opaque paint coupled with the low saturation of the painting again reinforced the effects of the fog by creating a dull, cloudy impression rather than a bold or vivid one. The objects in the painting seem to have a thicker texture than that of the fog, which again emphasized Monet’s concept behind this piece. This blend of various traditional techniques allowed Monet to develop a delicate, yet beautiful depiction of the London Parliament. In contrast to Monet’s Houses of Parliament: Effect of Fog, London, Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night was painted with a different purpose in mind. Both Monet and Van Gogh were prominent figures of the 19th century who exercised similar techniques within their artwork.
Monet, however, was an Impressionist while Van Gogh was a post-Impressionist who used art to depict his personal emotions. Both pieces used a mix of cool colors to develop the atmospheric perspective to show distance with opaque paint. Unlike Monet, however, Van Gogh’s distinctive style placed an emphasis on the usage of dark, vibrant colors with greater saturation. Post-impressionistic artists relied greatly on the evocative use of color to portray the artist's emotional interpretation of their work. As a result, Van Gogh’s piece utilized a greater variety of hues and had more variation in value to produce a striking image that represented his emotional conflicts. Monet’s work highlighted his blending techniques, whereas Van Gogh’s use of impasto stresses the painterly texture of the work. The curved contours in addition to the fluid brushstrokes of the swirling sky in Starry Night are meant to stand out and symbolize the inner turmoil of Van Gogh in stark contrast to the peaceful village beneath- another trademark of the post-impressionist movement.
Monet’s style required him to paint a realistic image based on what he saw, while Van Gogh’s style was a more personal approach that thrived off of his imagination. Both artists were greatly recognized and revered for their artwork, but the Starry Night had left a strong impression on me prior to Monet’s artwork. Van Gogh effectively manipulated his work through various techniques to produce a very personal, but riveting piece that displayed immense detail in every aspect of the scene. Monet’s work was a fascinating representation of the bold impressionist movement, but Van Gogh’s painting was ahead of his time and even paved the way for another artistic movement known as Expressionism.
Monet’s cityscape of London is not the most well known of his collection, but it appealed to me due to its sheer simplicity and oddity. Instead of focusing on an alluring or detailed aspect of the landscape, Monet decided to place the attention of his work on the effects of fog. He diligently repainted the same exact scene over a period of time to capture the true beauty of the fog in London. His style brought a graceful elegance to a rather dull aspect of the city of London. His refreshing depiction of the city has increased my appreciation for the natural beauty this world has to offer.
