《睡蓮の池》 1907年 Water Lily Pond, 1907

1883年、43歳頃から、パリ北西のジヴェルニーに住み始めたモネは、1890年に家と土地を購入し、セーヌ河の支流から庭に水を引き、その池で育てた睡蓮をモティーフに、数多くの連作を描きます。その中で、縦長のカンヴァスによる15点の連作の1点にあたるのがこの作品です。描かれているのは、池に浮かぶ睡蓮、水面に映る柳の木と空。水面に映りこんだ景色と水の上の睡蓮が幻想的な空間を生み出し、水辺の空気までもが伝わってくるかのようです。空の光の色あいから、時刻は夕方でしょうか。モネは連作のなかで睡蓮の位置はほとんど変えず、それを捉えた時間による情景の変化を克明に描き分けています。睡蓮の花の季節は5月から9月末まで。モネは暖かい季節に描かき始めた絵を、冬にアトリエで仕上げました。

Monet went to live in Giverny to the northwest of Paris in 1883, around the age of 43, and in 1890 he bought a house and land and drew water from a tributary of the Seine to irrigate a pond in his garden, where he raised water lilies. These water lilies became the motif of a long series of paintings. Among them, this work is one of a set of 15 paintings on vertical canvases. It depicts water lilies in the pond, and willow trees and the sky reflected in the water’s surface. The scenery reflected in the water surface and the water lilies create a fantastical space, and even the air by the waterside seems like a tangible presence. Judging by the color of the sky, it might be late afternoon. In this group of paintings, Monet hardly changed the positions of the water lilies, but rendered them at various times of day, vividly conveying changes in air and light. The water lily season is from May to the end of September. In winter Monet worked in his studio, finishing paintings he had begun in the warmer months.

もっと！ モネ