Nympheas

Claude Monet loved his garden at Giverny so much that he turned it into the subject of roughly 250 paintings, and this 1906 canvas is part of that celebrated "Nymphéas" series. The whole scene is water. Lily pads drift across the surface in loose green clusters, sprinkled with pink and white flowers, while the trees and sky overhead appear only as soft reflections rippling below. Monet left out any shoreline or horizon, so the effect is a bit like leaning over the edge of the pond and gazing straight down.

Monet was a founder of Impressionism, the movement that cared more about light and color than crisp outlines, and you can see that spirit in every hurried brushstroke here. He seems to be chasing the light as it shifts, capturing a passing moment before it vanishes. It is worth knowing that his eyesight was starting to fade around this time, which may explain the dreamy, softened feel of his later work. Whatever the cause, the painting comes across as peaceful and hushed, a small pond turned into an entire world.