Unfortunately, Monet’s source of inspiration died a year later, greatly affecting the proliferation of his works. For three years after Alice’s death, Monet produced barely any work except for a few paintings he finished for a show (Russell 67). Between 1912 and 1914, Monet produced only six works (Tucker Monet 58). Despite the production of these few works, Monet told Bernheim-Jeune on May 19, 1911, “I cannot make anything out of my sad existence� (qtd. Tucker Claude 200). Like the lack of Alice’s presence before, Monet was unable to reflect on his deep love for her in his depictions of the reflections of the water lilies. Monet lost all motivation to produce these beautiful scenes. Weekes described this condition well when he said, “Monet was the kind of romantic figure whose work goes to pieces when a beloved wife dies� (Weekes 226). If Alice had not played a role in inspiring Monet’s artwork, he would have been able to continue painting normally. However, because she played such a pivotal part, it is understandable that Monet was paralyzed from painting his own visually stimulating works without his own beauty to reflect upon. Consequently, during the first few years following Alice’s death, Weekes’ statement was true; however, in time Monet recovered.
Monet, Claude. Water Lilies. Fine Arts Museum
of San Francisco: San Francisco, CA, c. 1914.
When he finally returned to painting the pond at Giverny, Monet’s style differed drastically from that before Alice’s death as he experimented with a more abstract technique. Like in his paintings marking the beginning of their relationship, Monet’s works lacked the reflections of the water lilies because symbolically, with the loss of his love, he could no longer depict the beauty of their relationship as he had once done. Simultaneously, Monet’s images strayed from the more realistic ideal of capturing the true beauty. In Water Lilies (1914), the image is bolder with bright unrealistic colors and lacks the soft, more realistic qualities of earlier works. Strokes are also broader and less focused resulting in a picture, which strays far from the normal perception of a scene of these flowers on water. Perhaps without the tangible relationship, Monet could not latch onto the real motive of love behind his work and through a fading memory; the realistic qualities of the scene were lost. He lacked the vigor that Alice had once encouraged and was forced to create less tangible images as his love was no longer concretely present in his life. Without the actual presence of his own “water lily,� Monet depicted those in the pond more creatively than previously, using less realism as he no longer had a living source of inspiration.