Water Lilies 1907

Curator: Stepping closer to this radiant canvas, we are viewing one of Claude Monet’s "Water Lilies", dating to 1907. Editor: It feels less like looking at water lilies and more like staring into liquid light itself. The colors, these ochres and greens… almost incandescent! Curator: Monet dedicated a significant portion of his later career to depicting his water lily pond at Giverny. It became his personal obsession, a stage upon which he explored the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. Editor: Right. Light… but it's also the feeling, too, no? For centuries, water lilies, particularly the Nymphaea, symbolized enlightenment, rebirth... I wonder, was Monet conscious of imbuing this imagery? The lilies become almost abstract emblems floating in some sunlit netherworld. Curator: Possibly, but more fundamentally, I see him pushing the boundaries of Impressionism here, edging towards abstraction, but remaining anchored to the representational. It also speaks to Monet's socio-political context; the turn of the century was a period marked by significant cultural and industrial changes. The retreat into the natural world, or a mediated representation of it, could be a deliberate counterpoint. Editor: I can see that argument; the lily pads become simplified into shapes that recall nature but don't quite deliver it. I suppose these resonate today due to modern obsessions, too - a sense of nature becoming abstraction? Curator: Precisely. They offer a pre-fabricated serenity in a world in desperate need of it! Also, remember, after experiencing failing eyesight, Monet continued painting these, making the pond the only image of a changing world accessible to him. Editor: And it is worth noting, in nearly all traditions, water has associations of cleansing. This canvas does offer… resolution of some sort? A sense of peaceful dissolution. I now want a dip in a pool. Curator: An immersion indeed, visually at least. A moment of respite captured at the cusp of a changing world. Editor: An interesting point - perhaps a space worth returning to?