Artwork Series
In Dialogue with Claude Monet
In 1889, Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac presented coloured water lilies to the world for the first time at the World Exhibition in Paris. This was a significant event, as water lilies were mainly found in white, and Latour-Marliac developed cross-breeding techniques that produced varieties in different colours such as pink, yellow, red or orange.
Claude Monet painted around 250 paintings depicting water lilies in different colours. They were on his property in the garden in Giverny. He could observe them in different times of day and in different seasons.
After the First World War, Monet wanted to donate two decorative panels with water lilies to the French state. This was to celebrate the end of war. He thought they would go to the Museum of Decorative Arts. The then French Prime Minister and Monet's friend Clemenceau suggested that he create a whole set of panels. Monet agreed, and it was the titanic work of his life, which he executed in a specially prepared atelier at his Normandy home in Giverny. He died just before the paintings were presented at the Orangerie in Paris. The Musee de l'Orangerie houses eight of Monet's large compositions of water lilies made from panels joined together. They are all the same height (1.97 m) but different widths so that they can be arranged on the curved walls of the two oval rooms.
Thus the water lilies became famous and are associated with Monet's name.
Scandinavian Water Lilies
Monet's Nenufars flourished among the lush vegetation of the French countryside. In Scandinavia, water lilies adorn a more austere landscape. Their flowers and leaves float on the clear waters of Swedish lakes. They form a carpet of leaves in places. And between them, wonderful flowers emerge.
An evening forest by the water — a common sight in Sweden. Here the Creator, when He created the world, seems to have forgotten to fully separate water and land. One might think so. But we were rewarded with magnificent views. The waters of the lakes are like mirrors in which the forest is reflected. And on the surface of this mirror sway the flowers of water lilies, fragile and transparent as if they were made of the finest porcelain.
In Sweden, these flowers are found in nature in white and pink (in Tiveden). But as an artist I have the freedom to express myself and colour them in different colours.
Water Lilies Are Bizarre Flowers
We can admire them — they let us. But we do not pick them, we do not make bouquets of them. We don't sit them in vases in our interiors. The water lily is a flower of freedom. It is free just like wild animals.
The Fame of Scandinavian Water Lilies
I don't know if I can paint as many paintings with this motif as Claude Monet. I would like to make Scandinavian water lilies famous, but this is not my aim. These flowers are an element of the landscape. Their presence in my compositions reinforces the message of my artworks through which I want to express my homage to nature. More paintings are being created. I call this process In Dialogue with Claude Monet.
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