Reflections in Impressionism - Edward Matthews

An early Impressionist work by Claude Monet, this oil on canvas painting includes spectacular detail and precision. The lines of light in the water create the reflection of the lighthouse. Using lighter shades of blue in the water also helps to portray the clouds. The dark figures of the boats help to bring focus to the image.

The painting Kaukola Ridge at Sunset,created by Albert Edelfelt, depicts a beautiful sunset landscape painting. Albert used the traditional method of depicting a lake landscapes, reaching a high vantage point. The water is colored to reflect the sky, while you can also see the reflections of the islands shimmer. Edelfelt uses the principles of movement and emphasis on the lake to give it an alive feeling.

Painted in the Spring of 1873. Sunrise (Marine) by Claude Monet is a portrait of the Le Havre port located on the northern coast of France. Monet displays a brilliant use of color in the water to help portray a reflection of the rising sun. He uses darker colors in strokes to give the water the effect of movement and choppiness.

La Grenouillère, also known as the frog pond, painted by Auguste Renoir during the summer of 1869. Renoir and his close friend Claude Monet compete to paint the same image in a shorter amount of time yet still capturing the subjective impressions of what they see. Renoir's painting consists of short, quick and definitive strokes to make up most of the image and water. The reflections created in this piece are simple and yet extraordinary. Due to the use of colors straight out of the tube, Renoir is able to create lively reflections of the people and plants around.

Spring by the Seine is a landscape portrait by Claude Monet circa 1875. In the painting the artist is able to bring movement and emphasis onto the river, by displaying choppy reflections and broken images in the water. The use of color on the edge of the water helps to bring the land and river together. Creating the feeling of depth to the river.

The use of thick and choppy brushstrokes in the painting, Regattas at Argenteuil by Claude Monet, helps to bring out the slight movement and motion of the body of water. Monet creates the reflections of both the regattas and buildings by incorporating the same colors into the water. The water itself even gives off the reflection of the sky.

The Seine at Giverny, Morning Mists is a spectacular landscape painting depicting a morning setting on the river. Monet uses layers of reflections in the water to create an idea of depth. Shading darker as you move away from the vanishing point. Leaving a clear area in the water to help showcase the difference in the color of the reflections.

The Home of the Heron was painted in the later years of artist Georg Inness's life. Spending winters with his family in Tarpon Springs, located on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Inness created this image based on the seemingly endless sunsets and wet marsh area. Inness was a very spiritualistic man, believing in the eighteenth-century theologian Emmanuel Swedenborg's philosophy. The reflections created in the body of water are fuzzy like the rest of the image, adding a feeling of haziness.

In the 1890's Claude Monet purchased a piece of land across the street from his home in Giverny. He renovated this land into a Japanese style garden pond. Monet devoted the last 25 years of his life to capturing and creating images of the changes happening in the pond. By 1903 Monet had switched to exclusively painting the water and the reflections in it. Pond with Water Lilies created in 1907 is a great example of the ability Monet had to depict movement and shading in the water in order to create the reflections of the pads and the sky.

Starry Night painted by Vincent Van Gogh is an amazing piece. Showcasing an excellent example of creating movement and emphasis on the reflections across the water. Using the color yellow streaming across the water in order to create the reflections of light from buildings across the water. The movement of the water can be seen by the brush strokes of dark and light blue layering on each other. Allowing for a choppiness of the water in the painting.