Focus questions

 These focus questions are designed to be used as a guide for close investigation of the works in Monet and the Impressionists. They are broad and non-specific to any curriculum level, so it is suggested that teachers tailor questions to the curriculum level and age of their students.

• The first set of focus questions is specifically related to selected works.
• The second set of questions focuses on selected elements and principles of the visual arts, and can be used by teachers self-guiding students through the exhibition. They can also be applied to relevant works throughout the exhibition.

 

Meadow with poplars  c.1875, Claude Monet.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: bequest of David P. Kimball in memory of his wife Clara Bertram Kimball. Photograph © MFA, Boston

• How has Monet used colour to suggest depth?
• What technique has Monet used to draw our eyes into the canvas?
• What title would you give this painting? What made you decide that?

> Write a label for this artwork

 

Camille Monet and a child in the artist's garden in Argenteuil  1875, Claude Monet.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: anonymous gift in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin S. Webster. Photograph © MFA, Boston

• What time of year do you think it is?
• Why are the red flowers so prominent in this image? (Hint: use the colour wheel).
• What is the child playing with? If someone had painted a portrait of you as a child, what toy would have been included?

> Write a label for this artwork

 

The pond  c.1877-79, Paul Cézanne.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Tompkins Collection – Arthur Gordon Tompkins Fund. Photograph © MFA, Boston

> Write a label for this artwork

Woman with a parasol and small child on a sunlit hillside  c.1874-76, Pierre-August Renoir.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: bequest of John T. Spaulding. Photograph © MFA, Boston

> Write a label for this artwork

• What are the similarities between this painting and Monet's portrait of his own wife and child?
• What are the important differences?
• How would you describe the colours that have been used? (For example: saturated, muted, limited, exaggerated)
• What do you imagine the child has just seen?

 

 

Pontoise, the road to Gisors in winter  1873, Camille Pissarro.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston:  bequest of John T. Spaulding. Photograph © MFA, Boston

• What kind of scene has been painted here? Is it spectacular or a 'glimpse of life'? How can you tell?
• What season has it been painted in?
• Can you find a similarity between the composition of this painting and that of Meadow with poplars?

> Write a label for this artwork

 

Cap Martin, near Menton  1884, Claude Monet.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Juliana Cheney Edwards Collection. Photograph © MFA, Boston

• Examine the brush strokes. What different ways Monet has applied the paint in this image?
• Does this place remind you of anywhere you have been? Where was that place?
• What questions would you ask Monet about this painting if he was here?

> Write a label for this artwork

 

Grainstack (sunset)  1891, Claude Monet.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Juliana Cheney Edwards Collection. Photograph © MFA, Boston

• What colours has Monet used to show the time of day?
• What colours has he used to emphasise shadow?
• Monet painted many grain stacks. If you were to choose one place to paint at different times of the day and year, where would it be?

> Write a label for this artwork

 

Rouen Cathedral façade and Tour d'Albane (morning effect)  1894, Claude Monet.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Tompkins Collection – Arthur Gordon Tompkins Fund. Photograph © MFA, Boston

• What colours has Monet used to show the time of day? How is this different to Grainstack (sunset)?
• What sounds might Monet have heard while painting this image?

> Write a label for this artwork

 

Waterlilies  1905, Claude Monet.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: gift of Edward Jackson Holmes. Photograph © MFA, Boston

• How has Monet shown the depth of the water?
• What do you think surrounds the pond? How do you know?
• What three words would you use to describe this painting to someone who could not see it?
• Monet's Water Lily series has become very famous. Why do you think these paintings are so highly regarded?
• If you were a frog, what would it be like to live here?

> Write a label for this artwork

 

Valley of the Creuse (sunlight effect)  1889, Claude Monet.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Juliana Cheney Edwards Collection. Photograph © MFA, Boston

• Monet was an old man when he painted this painting. Why do you think he chose to paint this place?
• What was the weather like on this day? How can you tell?
• How has he created depth? (Think not only of colour but also of composition). 

> Write a label for this artwork

 

Colour

• Use an artist colour wheel.
• How would you describe the colour palette used?
• Can you find a painting that only uses primary colours?
• What colours have been used together? Why?
• How has contrast been created?
• How has harmony been created?
• What kinds of effects are created through the use of colour?

Tone

• Can you see any tonal differences in the colours used?
• How have tones been used to create a sense of light and dark?
• Can you find an example of a painting where different tones have been used together to create a new effect?

Texture/ Brushstroke:

• How have the colours been applied?
• Can you find a painting where you can see the artist's brush strokes?
• Can you describe the surface of the painting?
• What effect does the surface create?
• How many different brushwork techniques can you see?

Form

• What shapes can you see in this painting?
• Have these forms been carefully constructed?
• Identify one form in a painting (eg. a water lily, a window, a flower). What happens to that form as you move closer and then further away?

Light

• Can you find paintings that explore the same subject, but at different times of day?
• How has the artist conveyed these differences in light?
• What changes happen in a scene as the morning becomes afternoon? Or evening?

Theme

• What are the predominant subjects that the Impressionists explore?
• In what ways were the Impressionists different to other artists of their time?
• Why were they seen as radical? How are they viewed now? Why has opinion changed?