Friday, April 8

Degas and Monet in 1873: two paintings two universes

Right: Portraits in a New Orleans Cotton office, 1873, by Degas
Left: Boulevard des Capucines, 1873, by Monet
Both paintings dated 1873 each depicting a moment in time, a transitory moment.
Monet give us the lights and colours of this fraction of time at the street and Degas, a more narrative description of what each person was doing in this moment of time showing 14 men working at his uncle's cotton office.
" Michael Musson is sitting in the foreground, checking the cotton; René de Gas is reading the paper; Achille de Gas is leaning by the window; Musson’s partner James Prestridge is on a stool, discussing a deal with a client. Musson’s son-in-law, William Bell, is offering the wares to a client, to inspect the quality." (here)
Once again we can see that the Impressionism is a group of painters that shared same concerns but each one has a history and a whole universe of their own.