Monet: Shadow and Light
from Devine Entertainment
The story is of Claude Monet in 1869 at the very beginning of the Impressionist movement. In a small town on the banks of the Seine outside Paris, Monet is experimenting with his revolutionary new painting style. He is passionate about colour, light and nature and he and his friend Pierre-Auguste Renoir spend days on end perfecting their canvasses that are shimmering reflections of the local landscapes. Monet has little success selling his works, but he remains an optimist. He is also proud, and extremely committed to his art, so much so that his rich father cuts him off from his only source of income Ð the family allowance.
Luckily Monet has a friend in aspiring young artist Daniel, who is the son of his landlady. Daniel also has mixed feelings about his father, who he believes has run off to Avignon to paint. Monet gradually becomes both a mentor and father-figure in the boy’s life, as Daniel even skips school to accompany Monet on his painting excursions. This greatly dismays the boy’s mother who has just evicted Monet from the inn with great fanfare. Not only is the struggling artist swaying her son away from his education, he hasn’t paid rent in weeks! But when Daniel finally learns the truth-that his father has abandoned him-Monet is the only one who can reach through to him. Though they both feel like giving up, together they see through these difficult times. In doing so they teach each other the importance of holding on to goals and dreams.
Claude Monet was just nineteen years old when he left home for Paris. He was quickly disillusioned by the rigid principles of the art establishment, preferring the relaxed art classes given by Charles Gleyre, where he met Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley. They formed an immediate attachment through their intense dedication to their new art.
Between 1869 (the year the film is set) and 1874, when the first Impressionist show was received poorly by the critics, Monet, Renoir, Sisley and the other members of the Impressionist movement painted every aspect of rural and urban life. Monet’s favourite locales included the Fountainbleu forest, La Grenouillère, on the Seine and the unusual studio boat. Monet was poor and completely unaware that within these five years the Impressionist movement would evolve to its peak. Even in this “starving artist” period, Monet’s paintings never became sombre.
Monet finally achieved financial independence in 1890. He is best known for showing the world the fleeting effects of light and shadow. Monet is arguably the greatest of the Impressionist painters.
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