sunrise

Elements of mystery and serenity are portrayed in Claude Monet’s painting, Sunrise. John Berger says, “When we ‘see’ a landscape, we situate ourselves in it. If we ‘saw’ the art of the past, we would situate ourselves in history” (108). Monet has material that is apparent in the painting that he wants an observer to realize. The rest of the painting; however, is left up to the analysis of the viewer. This is only possible because of the viewer’s lack of historical knowledge about the author. If the viewer is oblivious to aspects of the author’s life, no predisposition can form and unbiased analysis can be utilized. A painting consists of what lies underneath the surface that is only to be seen and interpreted by a select few. What lies underneath is never seen in the same way by the same two people. That is what makes all paintings unique. Imagination is a wonderful thing in that no two people have the exact same thoughts and therefore no one has the exact ...