Water Lilies 1905

This is one of the many Water Lilies paintings by Claude Monet, a leading figure of the Impressionist movement in France, around the turn of the 20th century. Monet's later life was deeply affected by personal loss, including the death of his wife and son, as well as the onset of vision problems. This series is more than just a depiction of nature; it reflects Monet’s profound engagement with memory, loss, and the passage of time. He once said he wished he “had been born blind and then suddenly gained [his] sight so that [he] could have begun to paint in that way.” Consider the artist's sensory experiences of nature as mediated by both his failing vision and the emotional weight of his life. Water Lilies invites us to meditate on the fluidity of perception, the ephemeral nature of life, and the deeply personal ways in which we find beauty and solace amidst the inevitable currents of change.