Monet
Adolphe Monet Reading in a Garden
1866
Oil on canvas
Courtesy of the Larry Ellison Collection
Though Monet’s father Adolphe was shocked to hear the news that his son was soon to have a child, little of the tension between father and son is visible in this peaceful scene. The artist’s treatment of the sandy garden path is particulary sophisticated: a warm pink in sunlight and a deep purple gray in shade, the line of demarcation between the two zones breached by spots of the opposite tone. The distant view outside the garden, at center, is almost unexpectedly nuanced, layers of atmosphere softening the deep greens and blues at the horizon.
Click on the image to see the full painting.
