Author: Claude Monet born in Paris on November 14, 1840. After his return from the army in 1861, his aunt agreed to send him to an art school. However Monet did not appreciate the styles of painting taught at university. In 1862, he met Pierre-Auguste Renoir with whom he founded the Impressionist movement. His famous work Printing,Rising Sun, was presented at the first exhibition of the Impressionists in 1874. In 1873, after moving to Argenteuil, he painted the Poppies which represents the surrounding countryside.

Date of completion: 1873

Storage location: Musee d'Orsay, Paris
Gender: countryside


Historical context: In the 19th century, beginning of the Third Republic, many modern painters were refused entry to the Salon. Paris is described as a universe of debauchery and the impressionist painters represent the leisures of this city as well as the pleasures which are a few kilometers from it.
Landscapes, atmosphere and light are Monet's favorite themes.

On this canvas we can observe a landscape, it is a field of poppies. In the foreground, two figures are present: a woman with a parasol, dressed in a blue-grey and black dress. She wears a lighter hat which contrasts with her dark dress. She looks refined and certainly belongs to the bourgeoisie. The child also wears a clear hat just like his clothes. He has a poppy in his hand. The field is separated in two: the left part is filled with poppies which gives a red and colorful tone to the canvas. It seems raised, it's probably a mound. The child stands on this mound. The woman is on the right side of the field, which is duller, darker. In the background, two people are present, also a woman and her child. The woman is all dressed in black and the child in grey. The colors are duller than the first two people in the foreground. In the background is the edge of the woods, large dark trees are present. In the center of this background, there is a house which seems quite traditional, clear which contrasts with the woods. The sky is clear, blue and with lots of moving white clouds.

The canvas consists of three planes. The first with the first group of people, the second with the second group of people, and the third with the sky and the woods. The horizon line is located halfway up the canvas at the level of the second group of characters (sky blue line). It separates the "sky" part and the "earth" part. The difference between the size of the trees marks the depth of this painting, just like the difference in size between the characters in the painting (yellow circles): these are the points of strength of the table, where the eye is drawn. Indeed, the characters in the foreground are larger than those in the background. We can see a mound on the left side of the canvas because the characters in the background are at a higher level than those in the foreground, as are the trees. The flowers are at a different level too, the elevation of the ground is proof of this relief. The poppies that are on the mound are distributed by clusters. Only a few areas of the mound are devoid of them: they form oblique lines all directed towards the group of people in the foreground. These oblique lines, which can then be described as vanishing lines, give movement to the work, it is the direction of the characters' walk.
It is a work painted in oil, with the technique of the impressionists, that is to say by small touches of color. Compared to the graphics, we can see that the details are practically non-existent, the layout is blurred, the objects are guessed but not clearly represented. The facial features are not visible, the clothes are not detailed. Poppies can be guessed by their red appearance and their shape. The trees appear to us in the distance therefore more blurred and we cannot distinguish any element. As for the house, we imagine it very simple, traditional, we simply perceive the differences in colors that mark the roof and the windows.
We can distinguish three composite zones each of different colors: First of all the sky which is made up of different shades of gray and blue as well as beige, that is to say cold colors. Then, the right part of the field is composed of these same colors as well as light orange, a little more bland than the orange which is located in the last part. This one, placed to the left of the painting, mainly red, therefore warm colors, then fairly light green. The horizon line contains a cold color: dark green which represents the trees. This then allows us to distinguish the symmetry of two primary colors, one cold and the other warm: blue and red. The red color is located at the bottom left of the painting and the blue color at the top right and the line of symmetry between the two intersects the first couple of people and runs along the mound of poppies. All these colors, despite their opposition, remain luminous.
The light (orange arrow) seems to come from the upper left part of the work and follows the movement of the hill until it illuminates the child and the woman in the center of this painting. We then understand that the sun is on the far left, we do not see it, it is not part of the painting and proves that priority attention is paid to the first group of people.

III) Interpretation of the work


The artist wanted to paint leisure related to nature in the 19th century in opposition to the industrialization of the city and the pleasures associated with it. For this, Monet relies on bright colors that highlight the joy in the countryside. Movement and light draw our gaze to the first group of people. Only four people are represented, which contrasts with the effervescence of the city. Monet wanted to show that pleasure in the countryside is linked to the calm and serenity of the atmosphere. This painting translates the impressionist movement well by the technique used, that is to say by the small touches of color and by the importance of the light which highlights an aspect of the painting. In addition, nature is one of the themes of impressionist painters. Indeed, the latter can take advantage of the pewter tube, which allows the transport of colors, invented in 1850.
Monet presents poppies to the public during the first exhibition of the impressionist group in the former studios of the photographer Nadar in 1874. It can be said that this painting follows the lineage of Monet's paintings in that most of these works depict the countryside and nature. This is why we cannot qualify Poppies of innovation.

Barbara Rubino