The artwork of Water Lilies is a series of paintings worked by 19th and the French impressionist painter 20th, Claude Monet. The “Water Lilies” series consists of about 250 individual paintings painted between 1897 and 1926 during the sunset years of Claude Monet. All the paintings are based on water lilies that Claude Monet had planted on his large estate in Giverny. The painter worked on most of these paintings after the cataract altered his vision. The first paintings in the series were characterized by a Japanese bridge and had the form of vertical views.
Artist background
Water Lilies painting is one of the many works of art attributed to Claude Monet, a renowned French painter. Oscar-Claude Monet was born in November 14th, 1840 in Paris, Claude Adolphe Monet and Louise Aubree Monet. Monet’s mother encouraged the young painter to pursue an artistic career, and then Claude Monet joined the Le Havre School of Art in April 1851. However, Claude Monet received more painting skills under the guidance of other established painters like Jacques-Francois Ochard, Charles Gleyre and Eugene Boudin. Claude Monet thus established himself as one of the most sought-after painters of Paris with his 1872 painting entitled “Impression, Sunrise” which became the basis of the late 19th century Impressionism movement. Monet had married his first wife, Camille Doncieux in June 1870, who would later die in September 1879. The painter later married his second wife, Alice who died in 1911. In his twilight years, Claude Monet developed cataracts that influenced the quality of his paintings. Claude Monet died in December 1926 and was buried in the church cemetery of Giverny.
Painting period
Claude Monet bought a large house in Giverny in 1890 (which was later transformed into a historic public estate) and established a lush flower garden in the complex. The painter had also diverted water from the Epte river to flow into the flower garden. Later, Monet purchased additional land where 1893 began to create water lily ponds on the existing lawn. Claude Monet planted local lilies, but he also imported lilies from Egypt and South America. These lily ponds have become the basis of the series of “Water Lilies” paintings. Claude Monet worked on his Water Lilies series between 1897 and 1926. The first painting in the “Water Lilies” series was a painting entitled “Nympheas” on which Claude Monet worked between 1897 and 1898. The last painting in the series was the painting “Water Lilies” on which the painter worked between 1920 and 1926.
Legacy of the Painting
After the death of Claude Monet in 1926, the French government established two oval halls in the Musée de l’Orangerie to house eight paintings from the “Water Lilies” series. A special exhibition was subsequently held in 1999 at the Musee de l’Orangerie which saw the exhibition of the 60 paintings of the “Water Lilies” series.
Current position of the painting
The “Water Lilies” series are housed in numerous art institutions and museums around the world, including the Musee de l’Orangerie, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Museum of Wales, the Portland Art Museum and many others places.
Financial value
The “Water Lilies” series are some of the most famous paintings by Claude Monet and are among the most popular paintings in the world. A painting in the series was sold at a London auction in June 2008 for $ 30.96 million, surpassing another painting that was sold for $ 23.86 million at a London auction held in June 2007.
