John Singer Sargent’s Claude Monet Painting in a Garden is believed to date back to 1885 after the artist was invited to Giverny by Monet himself. Many believe that The Academy’s portrait could carry an earlier date, however, there is little concrete evidence to support this. Sargent and Monet had an artistic relationship on multiple occasions with the scholar being invited to accompany the great Impressionist artist at his residence.
The main purpose of Sargent’s work was to capture what life was like behind the walls of a great personality like Monet and he accomplished this perfectly in this piece. After their outings together, Sargent purchased four works that were created by Monet for his own collection. In addition, it’s said that John Singer Sargent may have even requested two of Claude’s pictures as payment for his tutelage.
To catch transient effects and depict life situations as they happened was one of John Singer Sargent various intentions throughout his artwork period. This painting titled “Moonlit Cove,” created by Albert Pinkham Ryder circa 1911 demonstrates how taking your time with painting can result in immensely beautiful art pieces. It can be seen how Ryder implemented a technique similar to the Impressionist approach when capturing his tranquil seascape seamlessly in subtle colors and whites, making it a brilliant example of art impressionism within its genre.