Favorite Art
My favorite picture is a one by a French artist, Claude Monet (1840 – 1926), dated 1874. The image is titled “The Bridge at Argenteuil” and has an overall size of 60 x 79.7 cm (23 5/8 x 31 3/8 in.) and framed sizing of 78.1 x 97.8 x 4.7 cm (30 3/4 x 38 1/2 x 1 7/8 in.) The medium is oil on canvas. The picture is part of the collection by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon with the accession number 1983.1.24.
This work is my favorite work of art as it is more personal to the artist and depicts the artist’s desire for calmness and comfortability with the environment one resides in. Such a connection with nature is something I perceive magical. Additionally, the painting’s quality of work is outstanding, mainly how he uses discrete brushstrokes to show the wavering light effects and build up the image.
The foreground of the painting is filled with sailboats. The background has roofs of houses and masts, which allowed the painter to play around with complementary colors. The bridge is another structured element that the painter exhibits, which he uses to name the painting. This piece of visual art is symbolic as it represents the actual objects in Argenteuil. The Argenteuil Bridge is a popular holiday destination for a summer away from the capital.
The artist intended to directly and quickly their sensory experience with the atmosphere and the landscape at Argenteuil. It is a clear view of the Seine with pleasure boats in the foreground, which were major attractions to Argenteuil visitors. In the background, Monet used thicker paint applied with denser strokes to represent the trees. There are unblended tones of blue, green red, and yellow paint, which the scene dissolves into. These complementary colors accentuate the glittering light. In the foreground, there is a smooth and even texture of the water. The painting exhibits a great variety in the treatment as it has a still and firm outline of the structured and solid elements.
This work was part of Claude Monet’s paintings of the Argenteuil Bridge, which he painted seven times. He painted and the railway bridge during this time, which spans the Seine upstream from the village four times. His work was showcased in the first Impressionist exhibition that took place in 1874.