Monday 9 February 2009

The Studio Boat #1 - Monet's bateau atelier

Le bateau-atelier (1874) by Claude Monet (1840 - 1926)
19-5/8 x 25-1/4 inches, oil on canvas

Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo, The Netherlands

The studio boat has an honourable history. It's been responsible for an awful lot of art which now commands very high values.

Claude Monet is renowned for painting plein air. He even took his studio outdoors and on to the water for some of his paintings. In 1873 Monet had a 'fruitful sale' which enabled him to have a studio boat built. He may well have decided to get one after an association with Daubigny (a member of the Barbizon School) who had a studio boat which he used a lot to paint along the Seine and the Oise. Monet seems to have moored his boat close to home at Argenteuil and later Vertheuil and only used it within a short radius of both homes situated on the north bank of the River Seine west of Paris.

Monet created three paintings of his studio boat and this is the first - painted in 1874.

This is the start of a series of posts about paintings of studio boats and about paintings done from studio boats - and of artists painting other artists in their studio boats.

Now - who wants a studio boat?

6 comments:

Unknown said...

Another of Monet's boats "House Boat" is at the Barnes Foundation in Merion PA. It is acknowledged as the most popular painting in the collection, due to its peaceful, introspective content.

You can see it on this page:

http://www.barnesfoundation.org/ed_c_highlights.html

Sarah said...

me me me, well I have one as soon as it stops raining and we can do the work needed on it, then watch out there will be a waterborne artist about.

Jeanette Jobson said...

How delightful to have a studio boat. I'll have to settle for cruises on little vessels scrounged from other kind hearted people who don't mind me ignoring them while I draw and paint. :)

But the different perspectives of viewing land from sea is quite enticing isn't it?

vivien said...

me me me too - but at sea I think I'd be seasick!

A friend has a narrow boat and takes of for weeks in it - they went down to London last year and did a circular trip using the Grand Union Canal, the Oxford Canal and the Thames. It was when we had the floods and she says they had to moor up for a few days while the water level went down and the speed, so that it was safe to go under the bridges on the Thames. They had visions of their loooong boat swinging round and clearing up all the pricey white pleasure boats moored along the banks!

Gesa said...

This had never occurred to me, but what a fantastic concept! Very nice... am looking forward to your series, Katherine!

Anonymous said...

Nice and surprising painting.I find it a little sad.Maybe it's Sunday Afternoon and everone alse are gone.Still beatuigul.It looks very peaceful.