Posted on 08/11/2006 9:19:39 AM PDT by presidio9
The French painter Claude Monet is being used as an environmental monitor, for scientists believe his legendary paintings of the Houses of Parliament can serve as a useful indicator of smog levels in late 19th-century London.
Monet's so-called London series was painted during visits between 1899 and 1905, capturing scenes that are often astonishing for their grey and purplish haze.
Many experts have assumed, though, that this extraordinary effect was an Impressionistic embellishment.
Environmental researchers at the University of Birmingham in central England analyzed nine out of 19 Monet paintings of the Houses of Parliament, painted between 1899 and 1901.
Using the position of the Sun, they calculated the date when the paintings were made, as well as the precise location where Monet set up his easel -- the far end of St. Thomas' Hospital, on the South Bank of the Thames, opposite the British legislature.
The dates and the angle of the Sun concur with Monet's accounts in letters back home to his wife, in which he described his progress on the London series, the weather and other matters, as well as with the daily meteorological records during this period.
The scientists believe there is strong evidence Monet faithfully rendered the London sun as he saw it at the time. In other words, the painter is unlikely to have added artistic touches when back in his studio in France in order to enhance the city's eerie "pea soup" atmosphere.
The next step is to see whether the extraordinary colours captured in Monet's haze give a clue to the chemistry and particles of the pollution.
The study appears in the latest issued Proceedings of the Royal Society A, a journal published by the Royal Society, Britain's de-facto academy of sciences.
In previous research, geometrists have determined the exact date when the US photographer Ansel Adams captured his landscape entitled "Autumn Moon, the High Sierra from Glacier Point" and when Van Gogh made some of his most important night paintings, including "Starry Night."
Smog became a major problem in London by the end of the 19th century, triggered by the burning of coal and particulates from factory chimneys. The phenomenon, celebrated in innumerable books and films, became a worsening health problem until it was curbed by clean-air legislation in the 1950s.
Exactly.
"blind"
His vision was really failing by his `Waterlillies' stage.
He was painting what he saw.
Actually, if I'm hung over I prefer two breakfast burritos with hot sauce.
Cheeta (Tarzan's sidekick) is alive and well and living in Palm Springs at the ripe old age of 74. Guiness World Record as the oldest chimpanzee ever..........
My post was related to the actual painting. But, whatever. Why did you post the article if you didn't want responses?
That's fascinating. I had an Egg McMuffin for breakfast.
Time to lighten up...take a deep breath and relax...
I couldn't possibly be more relaxed. The Egg McMuffin was delicious. Please share some more irrelevant details of your personal life.
My study proves that women of his time could knock out Dempsey.
I don't know much about posts, but I know crap when I see it.
"Smog became a major problem in London by the end of the 19th century, triggered by the burning of coal and particulates from factory chimneys. The phenomenon, celebrated in innumerable books and films, became a worsening health problem until it was curbed by clean-air legislation in the 1950s."
Pass a law, solve a problem.
I like McGriddles better...
McGriddles are foul.
Are you referring to Monet as "crap?" I love Monet. I saw his Waterlilies at MoMA a few weeks ago. It's gorgeous (I want to do it in cross-stitch at some point). The Musee Marmotton and the Musee d'Orsay in Paris both have a large Impressionist collection, and in person, they are joys to behold. Monet, Manet, Cassatt, Morisot, Renoir, Degas... outstanding artists all, IMO.
Mike didn't hve access to female models, so he mostly just painted male nudes and stuck orange-shaped breasts on some of them.
How long will it be in DC? It's not housed there permanently, is it?
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