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Water Lilies, Galleria Nazionale
d'Arte Moderna, 1897-1899
Water-Lilies, Toledo Museum
of Art 1914-17
Water Lilies, National Museum
of Western Art, Tokyo, 1916
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Water Lilies
From 1899 onwards he focused on water lilies
which he painted in his own garden at Giverny.
These shimmering pools of colour - almost totally devoid of form - are
the true starting point of abstract art, or at least certain forms of
it. They are the logical outcome of Monet's lifelong devotion to capturing
the subjective truth of nature outdoors.
Bridge Over A Pool of Water Lilies
is one of a series of views of the Japanese-style footbridge over the
pond in his flower garden at Giverny. The painting attracts and channels
the eye into the far reaches of the pond. The greens and golds are interwoven
with strokes of fiery red from the setting sun that irradiate the whole
composition with pulsing colour, and draw the eye down to the depths of
the pool beneath the shiny reflections between the islands of water lily
leaves.
These water lily pictures are among a series
of approximately 250 oil paintings by
Monet (1840-1926), which was the main focus of his artistic output during
the last thirty years of his life. On June 19, 2007, Sotheby's sold one
of Monet's water lily paintings for £18.5 million, making it the
most expensive waterscape in the history
of art.
TOP AUCTION RECORDS
For a list of the highest prices paid for works of art by famous artists:
Top 10 Most Expensive
Paintings and Top
20 Most Expensive Paintings.
HIGHEST IRISH ART PRICES
For details of auction records set by painters in Ireland, see: Most
Expensive Irish Paintings.
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