“One striking characteristic of Monet’s paintings of the irises in the water garden is his experimentation with unusual and unexpected vantage points. In three canvases from the 1914-1917 sequence, for example, Monet set up his easel on the Japanese bridge in the garden and painted the view looking down on the clumps of irises and the winding path at the lily-pond’s edge (Wildenstein nos. 1828-1830). In 1924-1925, he instead selected an uncommonly low and close viewpoint, making the irises seem gigantic (Wildenstein nos. 1834-1842). This extraordinary height, furthermore, underscores the vitality of the plants, giving them a nearly mythic stature. The viewpoint is close in the present painting too, although less emphatically so; the densely packed flowers are seen swaying and rustling in a gentle breeze as they unfurl and climb with vital energy. The canvas was probably painted from a spot on the bank, where Monet could look down onto the clusters of irises. The pale blue ground, therefore, must represent the reflection of the cloud-flecked spring sky in the waters of the celebrated pond, which contrasts with the rich indigos and greens of the tall, supple iris stems.” 

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Beethoven At Sunnyside

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Claude Monet At Sunnyside

Claude Monet at Kunsthaus Zurich

Claude Monet at National Gallery of Art

Claude Monet at Art Institute of Chicago

Claude Monet at Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris

Claude Monet at Philidelphia Museum of Art

List of Paintings by Claude Monet at wikiwand

Works by Claude Monet at Museum Barberini

Claude Monet at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Claude Monet at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Claude Monet’s Bordighera Series in Museum Collections (links at bottom)

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Claude Monet at wikiwand

The Impressionist Spirit essay

Claude Monet on The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Claude Monet: Nymphéas

How Claude Monet Transformed French Painting

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~Sunnyside