Monet's Serial Paintings: Capturing Light and Time

Claude Monet captured the passage of time by painting series of the same motif under varying light and weather conditions. Beginning in 1890 with the Haystacks series of over twenty paintings, he focused on fragments of landscapes rather than expansive views. Monet applied Michel-Eugène Chevreul's law of simultaneous color contrast, pairing complementary colors to create optical mixtures. The Poplars series of 23 paintings followed in 1891, emphasizing trees against the sky and capturing shadows to mark the sun's movement. Between 1892 and 1894, Monet produced 30 paintings of Rouen Cathedral's western portal, studying light on architecture. He later painted 19 views of the Houses of Parliament in London. His final and largest project, Water Lilies, comprises approximately 250 oil paintings created over the last 31 years of his life, depicting the pond in his Giverny garden. Monet's technique evolved from naturalism to abstraction, especially after developing cataracts, as seen in the increasingly blurred Japanese Footbridge paintings. His work was influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e prints, particularly Hokusai's Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. Monet stated in 1891 to Willem Byvanck that a landscape changes at every moment and must be seized at the right time.