Claude & Camille

Lately, I've been reading this really great book by Stephanie Cowell about Claude Monet and the love of his life Camille. I've always enjoyed looking at Impressionist paintings but I've never really felt a deep connection to them before this book. It's a novel based on a lot of research so I think it's historically accurate (with some gaps filled in by the author's imagination).

So right now I can't get enough of Monet's paintings and the rest of the Impressionists as well (Bazille, Pisarro, Degas, Manet, etc). Learning about Monet's life and his friendships with these artists has been really interesting and inspiring. In fact, there is an exhibition of Monet's waterlily paintings in Taipei right now... As soon as I finish the book I want to go see them!

I also want to get back into painting again, since I have a brand new empty apartment to decorate. :) I think I'll start making a replica Monet's La Promenade (below). It's of Camille and his son.

BTW- Monet was more interested in painting landscapes than portraits, and when he did portraits they were almost always of Camille. I think that says something. <3

Comments

  1. RachelMarch 28, 2011 at 5:31 AM

    Hey Rach!
    So proud of you and how much you're learning Chinese. Go girl! So this weekend me and my friends watched Burlesque and it was SO good. i totally thought of you b/c guess who's in it... Julianne Hough! Love you and glad you're doing well. Hi to everyone at Hsin Hu :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. JeffMarch 29, 2011 at 1:21 PM

    You should go to the Monet Museum in France! Have your picture taken on the Monet Bridge! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rachel MarieApril 15, 2011 at 8:54 PM

    Rachel! I saw Burlesque and when I got in the theater I realized Julianne Hough was in it and I FREAKED OUT with joy!!!! She totally reminds me of you- that's the strange thing! :)

    Aie Jeff- rub it in. :P You got your picture taken there didn't you? ;)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hess Banquet, Training, Lindy Hop, and Medical Check!

Image
Things have been really busy since I've gone back to work. We had a year-end banquet for my school. We went to the Hyatt hotel and had some kind of assembly where different branches gave cheers. After that there were some performances- dancing fish and dragons on a stick... I went to TGIF for the first time in Taiwan and they had a great drink- it's like an oreo milkshake with liqueur inside. It was very yummy! Then there was a banquet where we sat at different round tables and people went on stage to perform songs. There were free drinks and a lot of people took advantage of that. It was most interesting to see where conversations kept going to. But it was a fun experience- you gotta try everything once, right? My Pony class TA- she is awesome!!! Pony Class HRT- She's been with me since I started working in Taiwan! :) My great coworkers! Everyday at work is always interesting! ;) With my manager and director- NICEST bosses I've ever had With my Bear cla...
Read more

月下老人, the Taiwanese god of romance

Image
A few months ago in Chinese class we learned a little bit about 月下老人, or "the old man of the moonlight." He is worshipped in many temples in Taiwan and I first got to meet him in Tainan I believe. His legend is as follows: In the Tang Dynasty a man named Wei Gu found an old man sitting under a tree during a full moon. This man was holding a thick book and a bag full of red strings. Wei Gu asked this man who he was and why he had those objects. Yue Lao (月下老人) said that in his book is the list of all the marriages that have been/are/will be, and the red strings are used to bind soulmates together. Wei Gu didn't believe in Yue Lao's power so Yue Lao pointed out a nanny caring a baby. He said that the baby will be Wei Gu's future wife. Wei Gu didn't like that idea so he ordered his servant to stab the baby to death. Years later Wei Gu ends up marrying the baby, because she wasn't fatally wounded in the attack. Now people pay respects to 月下老人 in order to...
Read more

Last Friday was Bodily Functions Day At School

So this past Friday was pretty exciting toward the end of the day. Here's what happened: two of my kids threw up. One threw up on a teacher. Another one farted on me, and when I was helping them in the bathroom a little girl came in and peed all over the floor through her clothes!!! It was pretty crazy! PS- Rachel it was one of your hippos! :'( "Eli-buh-buh"
Read more