Monet and the Abstract in Madrid

Youth tends not to be a fan of anything academic, preferring to reinvent the wheel with its own style and unique vision. This desire to innovate pushed painter Claude Monet to develop his brush-strokes and gave rise to abstract landscapes free of the artistic conventions which reined supreme during the nineteenth century. This key figure of the impressionist movement revolutionized the manner in which reality was represented in the visual arts to such an extent that we can now talk about abstraction.

The exhibit “Monet y la abstracción” which occupies several rooms in the Museum Thyssen and also Caja Madrid will be on display until the 30th of May, and proposes taking a fresh look at the work of this important figure in art history. His landscape of the port, Impression, Sunrise (1872) gave rise to the name of the impressionist movement. The critic and humorist Louis Leroy ironically defined this painting as impressive in a review for the journal Le Charivari.

Next to his contemporaries, Monet stood out for his vision of nature. He depicted atmospheres not as elaborately constructed as they were in that moment, especially as representing what he felt was more important than a faithful representation of reality. In this way he was able to embark on a meticulous examination of the light, water or facades, as he did in his series of paintings of the Cathedral Rouen. He painted various versions of the same building at different hours, in order to expose how the changing illumination affected the volume, texture, appearance and colours of the image.

Modernity

While the water lilies of Monet are perhaps his best known work, he also loved to paint lakes, bridges, plants, reflections, and bucolic landscapes…nature was his favourite muse. As far as technique was concerned, the forms became less and less defined as his work progressed, as if they were dissolving and melting into one another in search of a truly “natural” landscape, giving us the sensation that the canvases breathe and move.

Today we recognize the talent and creativity of Monet, but it’s really only since the 1950s that the Monet is appreciated. During his career no one really paid much attention to such a unique artist. In fact it was the young American abstract expressionists who revindicated this artist’s work as the height of modernity. Modernity, a limitless concept.

Abstract impressionism

The exhibit, which is housed in two different places– the Thyssen museum and that of Caja Madrid, Monet’s works are exhibited together with that of abstract painters so as offer a chance for reflection on the connections between the work of Claude Monet and modern abstraction.

So why do we call it abstract? Despite not being blocks of colour like the painting of Marc Rothko, Monet’s work is abstract insofar as it expresses an internal sensation, and makes the spiritual world visible. An art which serves to express our interiority.

Surely Madrid by night has nothing to do with Madrid by day. This city is fascinating any time of day. Take advantage of this fantastic chance to see a great exhibit and rent apartments in Madrid, for a very impressive stay.

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