GALLERY 86: Claude Monet, Rouen Cathedral, West Facade, dated 1894
Monet, a founder of impressionism, became obsessed with the variations with natural light. From 1892 to 1895, he recorded in a series of paintings a medieval French cathedral as it appeared at different times of day or under different weather conditions. In over thirty canvases of Rouen Cathedral, Monet’s analyses of light on the cathedral’s surfaces resulted in iridescent colors and thick paint textures that are visually sensational yet highly naturalistic. Here, in early morning, the church shimmers lavender and violet, the stone of the upper portions glowing in the rich red-orange of the rising sun. Another from the Rouen series, showing the church in the yellow-white heat of the afternoon, is also in this room.
GALLERY 85: Edgar Degas, Four Dancers, painted c. 1899
One of Degas’ own favorite works, this, his last major oil painting, has a chalky texture reminiscent of the pastels he frequently used. Studying the strong patterns in Japanese prints as well as the snapshot effects of photography, this superb draftsman often designed his paintings with an angled point of view or created an off-center balance, cutting off figures by the frame edge. With the increasing abstraction of his late style, Degas here used a black outline which not only separates the gestures of the dancers but also accents their red apparel, intensifying the theatrical effect.
GALLERY 85: Paul Cézanne, Still Life, painted c. 1894
Most evident in this painting is the tension between what is, on the one hand, a rendition of nature and, on the other, Cézanne’s deliberate organization of the shapes into a rhythm of forms. The swirls and eddies of the blue drapery are reflected in the curves of the apples, peppermint bottle, white linen, and carafe. At the same time, horizontal or vertical lines dominate along the edge of the table, the molding of the back wall, and the neck of the bottle, creating a linear grid that offsets and balances the curving lines. The blue-green tonality, in addition to the geometric patterning, further demonstrates the artist’s intent to visually organize and unify. Indeed, for the sake of unity, Cézanne has even distorted the carafe by swelling it out on one side, pulling it deeper into the folds of the fabric.
20th-Century Art
(Gallery 76 and West Stair Hall)
Flattened shapes, strong outlines, unmodulated hues, and pronounced pigment textures have been among the central devices of many twentieth-century painters. Artists have often abandoned the direct imitation of reality, preferring instead to work through complex problems of pictorial design to express human feelings. A tremendous diversity of artistic styles has resulted, emerging in tempo with the rapid changes of modern society and technology. The National Gallery’s present collection of modern art concentrates on the French school prior to World War I, the period when Paris was the cultural center of Europe.