The Rose Bush 1926

Claude Monet made this painting of a rose bush with oil on canvas. When I look at it, I can only imagine the layers of the painting emerging through trial, error, and intuition. The painting feels like a dance of light and colour – pink, purple, and green blossoms set against a bright blue sky. I am sympathetic to his artistic process, imagining what it might have been like to stand before the rose bush, trying to capture not just its form, but also the feeling of being surrounded by its beauty. There's a real sense of physicality to the piece: you can almost feel the texture of the paint and see the surface of the canvas. Look at the small stroke of green – see how it pops against the blue backdrop, communicating a sense of aliveness and growth? Monet was in conversation with many other painters. He was inspired by what they did and in turn, his work has been inspiring to others. Painting is a form of embodied expression which embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.