Impressionist Visions
Title: Waterloo Bridge: The Sun in a Fog 1903
Artist: Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 73 x 100 cm
Permanent Collection: National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
© 2004 National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Image Courtesy: The Art Gallery of Ontario
The AGO has done it again! It is not enough that the the Gallery has an extensive permanent collection,
but something is always in the works to bring world
famous artworks to the beautiful city of Toronto.
Turner
Title: The Dogano, San Giorgio, Citella from the Steps of the
Europa, 1842
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, 1775-1851)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 62 x 92.5 cm
Permanent Collection: Tate Britain, London
Presented by: Robert Vernon, 1847
© 2004 Tate Gallery
Image Courtesy: The Art Gallery of Ontario
Joseph Mallord William Turner, better known as J M W Turner, initially painted
exclusively in watercolor. His first exhibit
in 1790 was done at the age of fifteen. Six years later, 1796, his experiments with oil painting began.
Turner's subject was color but not necessarily the landscapes. His works are
described as nature in the raw. Powerful images enhanced with his
non-traditional use of a white undercoat. This experiment allowed his colors to
shine through. It was said Turner put the sun in his paintings.
Title: The Burning of the House of Lords and Commons October 16, 1834 Exhibited 1835
Artist: Joseph Mallord William Turner (British, 1775-1851)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 92.1 x 123.2 cm
Permanent Collection: Philadelphia Museum of Art
The John Howard McFadden Collection, 1928
© 2004 Philadelphia Museum of Art
Image Courtesy: The Art Gallery of Ontario
Lore holds that on his deathbed Turner asked to be taken to a window so he could die while watching the sun.
The Turner Prize is named for him.
Whistler
Title: Nocturne in Blue and Silver: The Lagoon, Venice, 1879-80
Artist: James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 51 x 66 cm
Permanent Collection: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Emily L. Ainsley Fund, 1942
© 2004 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Image Courtesy: The Art Gallery of Ontario
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American painter, printer, printmaker
and designer who spent much of his artistic career residing in England. Whistler
was a bon vivant noted for his incredible flamboyance and quick wit. His art was
discreet and subtle, the antithesis of the artist's famous character.
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Title: Nocturne: Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, 1875
Artist: James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 60.2 x 46.7 cm
Permanent Collection: The Detroit Institute of Arts
Gift of: Dexter M. Ferry Jr.
© 2004 The Detroit Institute of Arts
Image Courtesy: The Art Gallery of Ontario
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Ruskin, the respected English art critic, condemned
Nocturne: Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, as 'flinging a pot of
paint in the public's face'.
Whistler responded with a libel suit that he won, but the damages were
one farthing. This lawsuit led to Whistler's bankruptcy. As was his
character he took the problem in stride and produced enough works to allow
him to continue in the flamboyant lifestyle of his preference. |
Whistler's most famous work is likely the nicknamed Whistler's Mother
which is actually Arrangement in Grey and Black #1 Portrait of the Painter's
Mother.
Title: Nocturne: Blue and Gold: Old Battersea Bridge, 1872-5
Artist: James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 68.3 x 51.2 cm
Permanent Collection: Tate Britain, London
Presented by: The National Art Collections Fund, 1905
© 2004 Tate Gallery
Image Courtesy: The Art Gallery of Ontario
Whistler's antics are as legendary as his artwork. He was expelled from West Point for 'deficiency in
chemistry', winning the libel
suit against Ruskin but resulting in the plaintiff's bankruptcy, yet it is his art that is his lasting legacy. The subtleness of colors and his
capture of a brief Impression adds him to the list of Impressionist artists.
Monet
The man responsible for the name of this exciting new genre of artwork was
Claude Monet. His Impression: Sunrise, 1872 exhibited two years
later gave this group their name.
Title: Sunset on the Seine, Winter Effect, 1880
Artist: Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 101.5 x 150 cm
Permanent Collection: Petit Palais,
Musée des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris
© PMVP / Pierrain
Image Courtesy: The Art Gallery of Ontario
Monet along with Renoir, Brazille and Sisley studied in a Paris studio. Their
rebellion from the traditional drawing using antique casts as models was the catalyst
leading to this aesthetic art moment.
The natural leader, Monet, took the group outside, and his love affair with
painting in plain air was born. Later he would convert a flat bottomed boat,
structuring it to allow him to paint while on his beloved water.
Title: Sunset on the Seine 1874
Artist: Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 49.5 x 65 cm
Permanent Collection: Philadelphia Museum of Art
Purchased with the W. P. Wilstach Fund, 1921
© 2004 Philadelphia Museum of Art
Image Courtesy: The Art Gallery of Ontario
Monet's works are meant to tantalize the senses with a brief moment in time.
Title: The Thames Below Westminster 1871
Artist: Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 47 x 73 cm
Permanent Collection: The National Gallery, London
© 2004 National Gallery, London
Image Courtesy: The Art Gallery of Ontario
The artist is noted for his series paintings, such as Haystacks,
Rouen Cathedral, Poplars and of course Water Lilies
Title: San Giorgio at Dusk 1908
Artist: Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 65.2 x 92.4 cm
Permanent Collection: National Museums & Galleries of Wales, Cardiff
© 2004 National Museums & Galleries of Wales
Image Courtesy: The Art Gallery of Ontario
Turner, Whistler and Monet. Either of the three artists would be worthy of an
exhibition. The three combined puts this on the can't-be-missed list of things
to do in the summer of 2004 in Toronto.
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