The Artist's Garden At Vetheuil Analysis

Visiting the National Gallery of Art, I discovered two beautiful paintings that I never have encountered before. Out of all the new paintings I encountered, my favorite is undoubtedly The Artist’s Garden at Vétheuil by Claude Monet. Even though I love the Monet very dearly, another new painting I came to love is The Old Violin by John Fredrick Peto. While the differences between The Old Violin and The Artist’s Garden at Vétheuil seem immeasurable, the paintings actually contain many similar qualities such as medium, contrast, color, and era. From swooping lines, to minute triangles, it never ceases to amaze me how the same tools can be used to create such different looking things. In Monet’s The Artist's Garden at Vétheuil, the artist used
Monet uses impressionistic techniques to highlight and emphasize the bright, airy choices of color in his painting. Peto uses the textures and color to draw out the violin and focus all the attention on the violin from the background. The colors in both paintings hold a sense of vibrancy or brilliance that only true masters can achieve. When I originally looked at the paintings I assumed that they were from completely different time periods based on the style and how different the paintings were from each other. I was amazed to find that the two paintings actually have only 10 years between their creations. Monet painted The Artist’s Garden at Vétheuil in the year 1880, while Peto painted The Old Violin in 1890. It is amazing how two very different paintings came from almost the exact same period of time. The paintings each hold an intense level of perspective. Even from the first glance, each piece of art captivates the viewer and holds his attention. When I first observed the paintings, I felt as if some powerful emotion had drawn me into each one and transported me inside to be with the subjects. Even though the paintings seem outwardly different, their captivating pull is the same and will forever be the