モネ 菊の花＆ルノワールからモリゾへの書簡 (1892)

Monet’s Chrysanthemums

French artist Claude Monet (1840–1926) was one of the founders of the Impressionist movement and is considered one of the most successful painters in contemporary art. Impressionism, which originated in France in the 1860s, is characterized by the artist’s depiction of the visual impression of the moment, specifically the transient effect of light and colour. Monet was particularly fascinated with portraying the beauty of nature as the light, shadows and colours changed with each passing moment, day or season.

The 1897 painting reproduced on our cover portrays a vibrant bed of colourful chrysanthemums captured in Monet’s distinctive heavy brushstrokes, which beautifully highlight both the magnificence and tranquility of nature.

Renoir, Letter to Morisot (1892)

French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919) was one of the leading painters of the Impressionist movement, acclaimed for his portraiture, dreamy landscapes and use of vibrant light and saturated colour.

Impressionists were the radicals of the art world, defying the formal rules of academic painting by preferring to spontaneously paint outdoors rather than within the walls of a studio. This “on the spot” style resulted in a greater awareness of colour and light and translated on canvas as rapid and broken brushstrokes that captured the fleeting quality of sunlight.

The Impressionist group, which also included founding member Berthe Morisot, often exhibited together as well as individually. Morisot, known for her swift brushstrokes and pastel-hued tones, was the only woman to join in the Impressionists’ first exhibition in 1874. In 1892 Renoir wrote to Morisot ahead of her first solo exhibition in Paris, and that letter is reproduced here against the lush backdrop of one of Renoir’s later still-life paintings, Bed of Anemones (1901).