Water Lilies By Monet || Art Explained

When standing in front of a water lily painting by Claude Monet, you have the sense that a moment of magic is about to take place.

Let it be known that Water Lilies is not a name of a single painting, but a name of a series of works.

During his lifetime, Claude Monet comes back to this subject matter several times, and painted more than 250 water lilies paintings.

Along with Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, Water Lilies are the most iconic images of Impressionism.

Here is a painting that is many feet wide and six feet high, an expanse of misty, vibrating colour that fills your field of vision.

Somewhere in the meeting place between your eyes and the picture surface, a discovery is taking place.

The magic of these pictures — and why they are so beguiling too — is that the encounter unfolds, repeats, returns and spirals like a piece of music.