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Reproduction of Claude Monet Impressionist Oil Painting “The Magpie”
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| Although painted in 1869, five years before the terms impressionist art and impressionism were even conceived, “The Magpie” is a great example of this genre. Painted on the famous coast of Normandy where Monet had
traveled with his wife Camille and son Jean, it is one of his few attempts to capture bitter cold outdoor landscapes and winter sunlight on canvas.
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Many of Monet's paintings during this period were domestic interiors such as The Dinner and The Luncheon for which is own family provided the theme and models. But when he returned to Paris at the end of the year he had difficulty selling The Luncheon and experienced a financial crisis, causing him to move in with Bazille. His aunt had stopped supporting him because of his relationship with Camille and some of his paintings had been impounded because of unpaid debts. At this point in his life he was still very much the typical “struggling artist”.
During the Franco-Prussian War, Monet fled to London for two years to avoid conscription into the military. While in London he spent a lot of time with Pissarro which affected his painting style, changing his choice of colors and continually decreasing the size of his brushstrokes.
Monet was sometimes given to bouts of depression and pessimism during and after the Franco-Prussian War, which killed Camille (godfather of Monet's son Jean) and seriously injured Renoir. He took the death of his good friend Camille very badly. But they were prosperous days if not happy ones and enabled him to afford rent large rented homes in Argenteuil with great scenery which were the subject of many of his paintings. Monet lived there with his family for nearly eight years and it was there that he gained his place in history.
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