Week 4 Blog Post

Monet and Manet both created two impressionist pieces from the eighteen hundreds that revolved around the celebrations that occurred in France after the defeat of 1870. The French government declared June 30, 1878, a national holiday. This date represented France's recovery from the War of 1870-1871. There was an opening of an international exhibition, which was cause for the streets of Paris to be covered with flags and crowded with people celebrating the event. During this time Monet and Manet were staying in Paris and were both inspired by the celebration in the streets. Monet stayed in the working class area of Les Halles where he placed himself on a balcony to paint his piece, whereas Manet chose to stay in the seventeenth arrondissement, a more elegant place to stay.

Right away I was able to see differences in these two pieces. One is energetic and more joyful than the other, which is more solemn and focused on a few figures. To compare the two I’m going to start with my favorite, and that was Claude Monet’s The Rue Montorgueil. This piece is so vibrant with colors you are able to feel the joy of celebration amongst the people. The patriotic flags strung all down the street with movement in them as if they are blowing with the wind. The clear blue skies with puffy white clouds sing with the joys from below them. Monet’s brushstrokes are energetic and strike the canvas with little detail, but just enough that the scene and emotions are clear.

Edouard Manet’s The Rue Mosnier with Flags is by far tamer than the bustling streets in Monet’s piece. His depiction of the festival seems to be set in the events that took place after the celebrations. The streets are bare with only a few people to be seen. The proportion that he shows of the streets is focused on a much smaller scale than Monet’s piece. The Rue Mosnier with Flags seems to be a more intimate piece than Monet’s was. I think the subject matter of these two pieces was where the biggest difference resided. In Monet’s the focus is on one man who I assume was a veteran of this war walking down the streets after or even before the celebration had/has taken place, then there are a few other figures sharing the streets with him, in carriage or on foot. The colors are also vibrant in this piece but seem to be more downplayed than in Monet’s piece.

Like all Impressionism pieces these two works of art have speratic brushstrokes and vibrant colors. When looking at this piece from a farther glance you are able to see the scene clearly. When stepping closer to the painting the brush strokes and colors become a mesh of everything rather than a clear scene.  Both these pieces show avant-garde in their impressionist styles. The brushstrokes and colors of the paints push the boundaries of the everyday painting we see with clear detail and elegant subject matter.