Why Did Claude Monet Paint Series of Paintings?

Also known as the most dedicated practitioner of Impressionism, Claude Monet executed more than 2,500 artworks, of which over 500 have been grouped into several series. These are the standing proof of the artist’s masterful ability to experiment with colors when depicting the ever-changing daylight and immortalizing an ephemeral moment. This journey of rediscovering Monet’s series takes us back to France and England and forces us to think of Monet painting en plein air, trying not to miss the light he wanted to catch.

Some art historians believe that Monet got the idea of working on paintings exhibited in series from the Japanese ukiyo-e. The influence of Japanese art on Impressionism has long been confirmed, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise. In the creation of his series, Claude Monet might have been influenced by Hokusai’s pieces, particularly his Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. However, Monet did not borrow this idea from Japanese artists. He was simply inspired by them and ended up turning this concept into something else.

Although both ukiyo-e artists and Monet aimed to represent various locations or objects in different weather conditions, there was one difference between the two. All artworks in the Japanese series were linked by symbols and stories. However, these works did not portray the same landscape or object under different light. On the other hand, most of Monet’s series feature the same landscape, painted from almost the same point of view. In Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, one can easily notice the distinct differences among each print, despite belonging to the same series.

Why Did Monet Paint in Series?

Apart from this, Claude Monet was incredibly good at using color. How else could he depict sunlight as truthfully as he did if not by experimenting with colors and short brushstrokes? Needless to say, impressionists were the first to use colors in painting shadows. Traditionally they were only portrayed in black or very dark shades. All these details are best seen and analyzed in Monet’s series of paintings.

Although his first official series was exhibited in 1877, it’s obvious that Monet had long been inspired by this concept. For example, in 1874, he executed five paintings called The Railway Bridge at Argenteuil painted from the same point of view. Another excellent example includes four paintings executed in 1876 entitled The Banks of The Seine in Autumn, Small Arm of the Seine at Argenteuil, Sunset on the Seine near Argenteuil, and Evening at Argenteuil.

Although his series gained wide recognition only in the 1880s-1890s, particularly thanks to the Haystacks series, Monet tried his hand at this method long before that. Over the years, he developed his style, grew as an artist, and learned how to use colors more efficiently. Then, he turned this method into a grand project, he started with a series of twelve paintings and ended up working on as many as 300 pieces for his Water Lilies series.

The Gare Saint-Lazare Series

Claude Monet worked on the Gare Saint-Lazare series in 1877. It is considered his first series and it consists of twelve paintings. Seven were on display at the Third Impressionist Exhibition. To execute what he had in mind, Monet rented a studio close to Gare Saint-Lazare, one of the largest terminuses in Paris. Due to industrialization, artists became increasingly interested in depicting such settings.

Monet was particularly interested in conveying the impression of how the locomotives disappeared from his sight, hiding in the steam and smoke. He also relied on sharp, blurry brushstrokes to further intensify and highlight how ephemeral the moment was. However, as one would expect, considering how busy the station was, Monet finished his paintings in the studio.

Unlike other later series, Gare Saint-Lazare depicts the railway station from different points of view—inside the glass shed, outside it, or underneath the Pont de l’Europe. Besides the inconsistent setting, the paintings also had a different theme. Some canvases depict the locomotive leaving. In others, the locomotive is patiently waiting to leave the station.

Next in line is Monet’s famous Haystacks series. It consists of 25 paintings produced between 1890 and 1891. He started working on them in the summer and finished the series in the spring, thus capturing the same landscape through all seasons.

In 1883, Monet moved to Giverny which became a highly significant location for his art, considering that he spent 40 years painting the surroundings of his home there. This time, Monet chose to depict harvested wheat stacks that belonged to his neighbor, Monsieur Queruel. At first, he only envisioned two canvases.

Monet worked on several canvases simultaneously, so he had to switch canvases several times a day, sometimes working on each for only a few minutes a day. He then revised them in his studio.

Unsurprisingly, almost all Haystacks were sold within a month after they were put on display. Collectors did not only love the depiction of light but also the peacefulness of the landscape. This series made it possible for Monet to buy a house in Giverny and cultivate his passion for gardening, which would later be celebrated in his Water Lilies series.

The Poplars Series

After finishing Haystacks, Monet set on painting poplars. These artworks, executed in the summer and fall of 1891, became a series of paintings. Unfortunately, the process did not go so smoothly. The village of Limetz wanted to sell the poplar trees on the banks of the Epte River at auction, and this put Monet’s work in jeopardy. So, he had to come up with a solution. Luckily, he managed to make a deal with the buyer to postpone the cutting.

As with other series, the working process was quite demanding. Sometimes, he only had around 5 minutes to get everything done before the light changed. He also made these in a boat, a sort of floating studio, which probably didn’t make things easier, especially on windy days.

French people started being increasingly interested in Catholicism in the early 1890s, and the Rouen Cathedral played a significant role at the time. Claude Monet started working on the Rouen Cathedral series shortly before finishing his Haystacks and Poplars. Just as the series’ title implies, the 30 paintings depict the facade of the Rouen Cathedral in Rouen, Normandy. In 1892, Monet rented a space close to the cathedral, which he used as a studio. The Rouen Cathedral paintings were executed only partly en plein air. He worked on the series between 1892 and 1893 and then retouched the canvases in 1894. These particular canvases were executed using thick layers of textured colors which were harmoniously interwoven with each other.

The Charing Cross Bridge Series

During the Franco-Prussian War, Monet and his family moved to London. They self-exiled to avoid conscription. Monet was so fascinated by the fog there that he promised himself he’d once return to put his impressions on canvases. So, between 1899 and 1905, he traveled back and forth from Giverny to London. The Charing Cross Bridge series was executed between 1899 and 1905. It consists of 37 paintings, each depicting the Charing Cross Bridge in London. Although they have some common features and share a consistent composition, the paintings were executed in different colors. Some even had certain elements added to them, like a train that travels across the bridge, the Victoria Tower or Big Ben, or a boat in the river. Monet was amazed by the bridge’s appearance in the typical London fog. This led him to develop a technique he called enveloppe.

Between 1900 and 1901, Claude Monet executed 19 paintings featuring the Palace of Westminster. They were painted from either the place he was staying at, where his window overlooked the Thames River and the Palace, or the terrace of St Thomas’ Hospital. Like other series, the paintings were executed at different times of the day and under various weather conditions.

Some were lit by the warm sunset light. Others show the Palace almost completely cloaked in fog, through which we get glimpses of sunlight. We can also notice that the Palace was painted using vertical brushstrokes, whereas the water was painted using horizontal ones. The sky, on the other hand, was almost always painted using more chaotic brushstrokes. All paintings show the building’s reflection in the river, which changes as the daylight and weather change.

Once he was happy with the sketches, Monet returned home to Giverny and completed the pieces. If he felt something was missing, he would send someone to London to take photographs. This caused much controversy in the art world because critics questioned the accuracy of the paintings.

The Waterloo Bridge Series by Claude Monet

The Waterloo Bridge series consists of 41 paintings that were executed between 1900 and 1904. Although all works share the same point of view, the paintings were executed using different colors. For example, Waterloo Bridge, Sun is painted almost exclusively in bluish-violet-whitish shades contrasting with orange and red. Waterloo Bridge, Sun Through Fog, although a bit more faded due to the fog, has lighter colors, including bright orangish paint used for the sun and the reflection of sunlight on the water. Some are more gloomy, while others look extremely bright.

Without a doubt, the fog played a significant role in the process, as it completely changed the effects of the sunlight. These details are important when analyzing his London works. At the time, other artists did not use an extensive palette to depict foggy gray cities. On the other hand, Monet used as many colors as possible, providing vibrancy even in the dullest of settings.