Description
This chart was inspired by the oil painting ‘‘Lunch on the Grass’’ by French Artist Claude Monet. The painting was cut from a larger painting known as ‘Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe’ and is currently held at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.
The Project
In 1865 Monet began a huge painting (it was over 4 metres wide and 6 metres wide) ‘Luncheon on the Grass’ which he intended to show in 1866 at an important exhibition alongside his peers.
Unhappy with the work (and short on money), Monet instead used the painting to pay his rent — but was unable to buy back his painting for almost 20 years.
By the time Monet reclaimed the painting, it was mouldy. So he cut it into pieces.
This cross stitch project replicates the left-bottom panel because we just love the bright red trimming of the lady’s dress, and the sky blue shadow falling on the man’s bowler hat and shoulder. It’s lots of fun to stitch as there are large blocks of single colours, as well as interesting speckling and colour changes.
Here’s a bit more about the painting in the words of Monet himself:
“I had to pay my rent, I gave it to the landlord as security and he rolled it up and put in the cellar. When I finally had enough money to get it back, as you can see, it had gone mouldy.” Monet got the painting back in1884, cut it up, and kept only three fragments. The third has now disappeared.
The Artist
Claude Monet was a French painter who lived from 1840-1926 . He spent much of his working life living in poverty, but still managed to produce a huge body of work.
He was fundamental in the development of the Impressionist art movement, and along with contemporaries Renoir, Sisley, and Bazille, began to paint in the open air.
In later years (as he developed cataracts on his eyes) his paintings reflected his distorted perception of colour. He is famous for his garden paintings, seascapes, and water lilies — look for more of them here in the store, they make amazing cross stitch projects.
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