CLAUDE MONET. By Richard Wiley

Monet is considered to be the founder of French Impressionist painting.  Born in 1840 and living until 1926, Monet filled his life with developing masterpieces of the impressionist movement.  Impressionism, philosophically means "expressing one's perceptions before nature."  

This is clearly evident in his work as reality appears to be an after-thought to what is actually put on canvas.  To me, reality seems to pass through his mind where he filters the colors, emotion, setting, and tempo and translates them into vivid depictions that are so much more than what is actually seen.  These depictions are governed by his use of color, brush stroke, composition, and balance.  
EXAMPLES : Impression, Soleil Levant; Woman with a Parasol; Rue Montorgueil; Saint Lazare Train Station

I like these because of the strength in composition and the way colors blend throughout the works, thus bringing a sense of harmony to changing subject matter.  They are just striking.

However, his best work, to me, comes later.

EXAMPLES : The Port Coton Pyramids; Oat and Poppy Field; various water lily paintings; Weeping Willow; The Rose-Way in Giverny.

To me, these bring from his early paintings the mastery of harmony and composition, but break barriers in terms of the "impressionist" method he helped pioneer.  This is most evident in his later works where they are virtually completely abstract, but the title helps connect the viewer to the real scene.