Claude Monet Water Lillies Analysis

Claude Monet’s painting Water Lilies illuminates a pond of water lilies by transitioning from darker shades around the edges to lighter ones in the middle. The lilies are spread out just enough apart to make them somewhat recognizable. If not looked at closely this could be viewed as a patch of colors. There is a dewy look because of the different shades of greens and blues Monet chose to use. While there may be a central point within the painting, the viewers’ eyes can easily scan the entire painting as a whole. The scene appears impeccably balanced in every aspect, however actually has more weight on one side than the other because of the thickness of the lilies and how close they are together. Upon viewing this painting there is a appreciation of peace based on the smoothness in each stroke vertical and circular. Certainly not everyone will have the same feelings and it could be easily perceived negatively because of blurred and dreary colors. Robert Hayden’s poem “Monet’s Water Lilies” speculates that while there is evil in the world, there is always a special place to escape whether inside a book, a quiet corner at a coffee house, a poem or even a painting. Hayden’s poem brings Monet’s painting alive by exposing his
It is the blurred water lilies that Hayden reflects upon within “O light beheld as through refracting tears” (Line11). It is this description that shows a loss of innocence overshadowed by evil. Although he talks about evil in the beginning he continues to show the harmony of finding one thing to remind us of the good in the world. Without sorrow we can’t have joy as he expresses “Here is the shadow of its joy” (line 14). “Here space and time exist in light” permits one to let go of the dark things that may be overwhelming and depressing at that moment and focus only on the perfect world that brings you