Impressionism & Monet

Poppies, Near Argenteuil, Claude Monet, 1873. 

http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/page18.html
In this webpage, Monet is reviewed in further detail. He is also compared to other major artists of the time and it focuses on some of the major differences in these artists. I enjoy this site as a learning tool because I think it does a great job of explaining how students can learn more about the Impressionists in a way that is applicable to real life. It also asks questions that help to provoke the students to think. For example, "Imagine that you are visiting one of these exhibitions in the late 1800’s: how were the paintings shown? (Look at contemporary paintings of Art Exhibitions or an Art Collector’s home!)
How should these paintings be put on display today? Be critical"

I think these are great questions that may inspire students to think for themselves and bring up questions they may have. It also helps to break up the constant reading by giving them a break to sit and reflect.

Another interactive part of this site is on the second page. It gives students the opportunity to play with the affect of light on one of Monet's paintings. The interaction combined with the explanation helps draw on the importance of light in Impressionist's paintings. By allowing students to do this themselves, at their own computer, they are able to interact and gain an understanding of how light can impact the mood of the artwork.

Lastly, this site allows a student to continue to explore the era, including pictures of other major paintings of the century with an explanation of major influences and styles. If using this in a classroom setting, it could be reviewed with the students. Then, the site can be used as a nice introduction to Monet and other artists of the Impressionism movement.


Water Lilies, Claude Monet, 1919

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cmon/hd_cmon.htm
Here, a descriptive biography of Monet is included. I like this site because while it is informative and shows pictures of his work along with further descriptions of each piece, it also shows citations and suggests further articles and reading. Students can be instructed to browse this site during class and I will point out how the website uses citations. I think this is a good tool to show students how important citations are, as the author documents all of their sources. By showing the students real life instances of citations, they will see that it is not just a meaningless task teachers are forcing them to do for no reason.

This website also provides a great slideshow of Monet's work. After they read over his biography, we could look at some of his painting as a class and discuss what the students do or do not like about the work. This will also open up a discussion regarding the use of light brush strokes and beautiful colors shown in all the work. By interpreting the work, students will begin to recognize some of the major characteristics of Impressionist paintings.

Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies, Claude Monet, 1899