Michael Wais Jr.

Claude Monet - “Poppy Fields” Analysis

Text is by Michael Wais; Copyright October 3, 2011

Claude Monet - “Poppy Fields”

Claude Monet’s painting Poppy Fields is full with the same green tone through the broad landscape shown.

Multitudinous dabs of red follow a buoyant representation of a child following an older woman in this light-hearted piece of art. The dabs are thin until they lead up to the closest perspective of the painting in front of the woman and child.

Faint green colors cover the majority of the right three quarters of the painting. A mist of clouds is rolling away from the center of the field and drawn above the building and the trees at the far end of the desolate field.

Rain has cleared, as is shown by the motion of the woman holding her umbrella low underneath her shoulder. Rain has apparently occurred because one hat sits above the woman’s head and one hat also sits above the child’s head. Light from the sky is lamp-like upon the each of the hats that are as yellow as bright rain slickers. Afternoon light is also apparently breaking through because of the how the value of color is modulated. Colors becomes more full and deep further down the woman’s dress.

Green is further integrated into each tone of the characters’ clothes by becoming concentrated in the furrowed folds of the woman’s dress until her feet become invisible under the pattern of the grass. The child’s garments are also hardly visible under the green color, as the clothing becomes indistinguishable when it blends in with the color of the grass. Playfulness is qualitatively expressed by that child getting “lost” in the grass (expressed in its hue) as the young person endearingly follows behind the elder, following the metaphorical protection of the umbrella.

Trees on the far side of the field are the finest of the objects painted, all of which are dark under the mist of the clouds that are level from on high. Each are united in front of the building at the farthest end of the vast field. Greys cover that edge of the painting as the smallest portion of a faint blue cracks out from the upper-left part of the painting.

A certain perfection of coloring is achieved in the values of the colors used. Trees in the background are one dark color and they stand out more to the eye than the calm field that makes up the majority of this work of art. Likewise, the grey clouds from above are calm in their monotonous and content relationship to the landscape. The green field also lends only vaguely to perspective. The scarlet poppy plants are the most illumined field objects that guide perspective and the eye. Seen here is a visual facsimile of what it ought to be like to see the peace and tranquility of a countryside field, through the observation behind a dewy glass of wine or rainy window.

Essentially, each poppy plant emphasizes the illustrative serenity of a guardian (possibly a mother or a teacher) walking peacefully with her child.

(Source: arthistorianh)

Posted 7 months ago — 8 notes