Claude Monet was born on this date (November 14) in 1840. Few other artists have had as much influence over the future direction of art. Indeed, Monet’s painting, Impressionism, Sunrise, when exhibited in 1874 supplied an art critic with the term “impressionist” to characterize Monet and his fellow exhibitors. Although the critic’s language was meant to be a disparaging swipe at the surprising and innovative style of art in the paintings on display, Monet and the others adopted the title for themselves. Impressionist art, with its emphasis on light and atmosphere, as well as recreation of spontaneity in sweeping brush strokes or imitation of Romantic reflection of emotional experience in the tone of the work, changed the path of art in the late nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century.
In fact, one would be safe to say the Impressionists’ perceptions of the world around them also exerted significant influence on those in other fields of art, including music and literature, an impact that continues today, where Impressionism remains the most popular style of art among those patrons attending museum shows as well as in the artistic tastes of the general public. In honor of Monet, I would like to take just a moment to offer a poem of my own, “Autumn at the Farm,” with imagery that I readily acknowledge also owes a great deal to my high admiration for his work.
“Autumn at the Farm” was included in my collection of poems, Tidal Air, published by Pecan Grove Press in 2002.
In fact, one would be safe to say the Impressionists’ perceptions of the world around them also exerted significant influence on those in other fields of art, including music and literature, an impact that continues today, where Impressionism remains the most popular style of art among those patrons attending museum shows as well as in the artistic tastes of the general public. In honor of Monet, I would like to take just a moment to offer a poem of my own, “Autumn at the Farm,” with imagery that I readily acknowledge also owes a great deal to my high admiration for his work.
AUTUMN AT THE FARM
This afternoon as that fresco of hills above our
valley is filled with the scald of early-October
light, my son examines a patch of pumpkins,
checking for roundness. Fingers splayed,
he runs his small hands along every surface.
Although each seems even more orange
in this season’s sharpening angle of sun,
he discovers their rare areas of darkness,
pointing out imperfection, spotting irregular
blotches that appear like little islands painted
on a schoolroom globe. Kneeling, he knocks
ever so softly at one after another and listens
for the hollow response that follows every rap.
As he reaches to lift the one he has chosen,
a distant landscape burns behind him, far
fields where the cut stubble of corn stalks
suddenly blossoms almost as if with all
the varieties of light one might find in a tilted
prism, while nearby, long shadows cling
to the dark barn and farmhouse. A frieze
of thin clouds bands the horizon, already
beginning to absorb the colors of sunset.
A couple of crows veer above an oak
as their black reflections slant effortlessly
across that bright pond now shimmering
beyond a display of flowers still in bloom
beside the garden path. The whole scene
seems lit like the poplars and haystacks
of Monet’s oils on canvas. However,
when my son motions to offer me his
selection, both arms full, and with nearly
half his body hidden behind that icon
of autumn, I am sure such a gesture
is not just another abstract notion of art.
—Edward Byrne
“Autumn at the Farm” was included in my collection of poems, Tidal Air, published by Pecan Grove Press in 2002.
1 comment:
Thank you. You put me in the pumpkin patch, as well. I liked your poem very much. The Monet picture was the perfect inspiration. Nice.
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