Irises
1914–17
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
200 × 200.7 cm (78 3/4 × 79 in.); Framed: 203.8 × 204.5 × 6.4 cm (80 1/4 × 80 1/2 × 1 1/2 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
4887
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Approximately six and a half feet square, Irises is one of a series of large paintings Claude Monet undertook during World War I experimenting with familiar motifs on an ever-expanding scale. Lacking a discernible horizon or clear sense of depth, the viewer is both on top of and submerged in this encrusted and disorienting surface, suggestive of water, on which various vegetal and floral forms float. Together with other related canvases, this work remained in the artist’s Giverny studio long af...
Art Historical Context
Claude Monet's *Irises* (1914–17), a monumental oil on canvas measuring nearly 200 cm square, captures the artist's lifelong fascination with his Giverny garden. As a cornerstone of Impressionism, Monet revolutionized painting by emphasizing fleeting light and color over precise detail. This late-career work, housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Department of Painting and Sculpture of, showcases his garden blooms in vibrant purples and greens, rendered with loose, expressive brushstrokes that blur the boundary between flowers and atmosphere. Painted during World War I, when Monet retreated deeper into his sanctuary at Giverny, *Irises* reflects his immersive technique: working en plein air or from memory in his studio, layering thick impasto to evoke depth and luminosity. The square format amplifies its immersive quality, inviting viewers into a dreamlike floral expanse. Though Monet's worsening cataracts influenced his bold palette, the painting's harmonious composition endures as a testament to nature's beauty amid personal and global turmoil. Today, this masterpiece draws visitors for its sensory immediacy, embodying Impressionism's legacy of joy in the ephemeral. Stroll past it and feel the garden's whisper!
About the Artist
Claude Monet · 1840–1926
Claude Monet, born Oscar-Claude Monet on November 14, 1840, in Paris and raised in Le Havre, Normandy, began his artistic journey as a successful teenage caricaturist. His formal training started at the Le Havre secondary school of the arts in 1851, where he received his first drawing lessons from Jacques-François Ochard. Around 1858, he met Eugène Boudin, who became his pivotal mentor, introducin...