President's Message - October 2011

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Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 November -0001 16:00

Dear Fellow Members,

I have just returned from Paris. While there, I visited Musee d'Orsay, Musee du Louvre, and Musee de l'Orangerie. It is the Musee de l'Orangerie experience I would like to share with you. The Orangerie houses Monet’s water lily paintings. The paintings are arranged in an oval, fitted together to create what appears to be a continuous band.

What I found intriguing was the effect the work has on people. I was sitting on the bench in the middle of the room, surrounded by others viewing the impressionist work. I noticed most of the people seemed to be in a meditative state. Even the group tours that usually spend ten seconds looking at a masterpiece were captured by the lilies. In the first room, I thought, "okay, there's a bench so they're taking a break, lots of walking in Paris," but the same people were as mesmerized in the second gallery. What is it about these works that so captures people? The palette is calming and quite pleasing, but for people to sit and stare at it for fifteen or twenty minutes transfixed! This is the effect we all wish our work had on our patrons.

My conclusion is that the feeling we have when we create a work is somehow felt by the viewer. Monet loved painting the water lilies at his Giverny home. Everyone had a peaceful, calm expression when looking at the paintings. I suspect Monet had the same expression when he was creating these works.

Lin LaMer
EAFA President