by Alexandra Tuschka
The red poppies crisscross the green field. The little girl at the lower center of the picture has already picked some of them. She proudly makes her way out of the picture with her mother. Possibly she will put the beautiful flowers in a vase at home.
"The Poppy Field at Argentueil" is not a fantasized pictorial motif. Monet settled in the small French town for several years after his return from England. The landscapes surrounding this place became a constant source of inspiration. The "Poppy Field" seen here is one of them. Monet enlivens it with four people walking through the poppy-strewn field. Like a waterfall, these stretch diagonally from the left half of the picture to the center. In front, the red dabs of color become stronger. At the beginning and end of this area Monet has positioned two figures each. These support the vibrating impression of the color dots and their descending movement. The background is marked by some bushes and a single house in the center of the picture. One thinks to feel a slight breeze - some trees are already leaning, also the umbrella of the lady in front seems to be touched by it. Probably Camille, Monet's wife with the common son Jean is to be seen here. Both often find place, albeit abstracted, in Monet's paintings.
Claude Monet - The Poppy Field near Argenteuil
Oil on canvas, 1873, 50 x 65 cm, Musée 'Orsay in Paris
