The Grainstacks

Among Claude Monet's many well-renowned works, such as Water Lilies, exists a series of paintings known as the Grainstacks. The works are exactly what they sound like--images of stacks of grain. Gary Storm, author of Paradoxes: The Theme and Variations in the Visual Arts -- False-color Cartography and the Grainstacks of Claude Monet, believes that "the images created by Monet have great depth and yet they are composed of streaks and smears of different colors of paint." The subjects of these paintings are incredibly simple and ordinary, but Monet's style creates something complex and beautiful out of the plain image.

Each of the Grainstacks focuses on one or two stacks of grain and there is rarely anything in the background of the image besides color. The color, however, is the main source of complexity to the pieces. Monet uses colors for certain aspects of the painting that are not conforming. For example, many of the grainstacks are on a ground that is, for the most part, blue. Of course, the ground is not entirely blue. The blue is merely a component mixed in with several reds, oranges and greens. The blue does however draw the most attention and adds the most depth since it is the most unusual color in the bunch. The same can be said for the mostly-yellow skyline. This is not as out of the ordinary, but the yellow sky does deeply contrast the mostly blue earth causing the grainstack to simply pop out of the image. For such a simple subject, Monet uses a wide spectrum of colors and their combinations create something far from simple.

The color in this image is also the only feature creating borders between the different aspects of the image. There are no definitive lines saying where the grainstack begins or where the sky stops. As storm states, "When viewed from a few inches away, the brush strokes are physically obvious and the individual colors in the strokes are distinct. But, like pixels, when viewed from a distance, the strokes and colors mingle and create a recognizable picture of grainstacks, fields, sky, and countryside." The colors simply change and only contrast between them divides the image into shapes. With this being said, the more contrast the easier it is to see the different shapes. The grainstack has an obvious shape when against the sky, but it is more difficult to see where the grain on the ground. This also adds the the complexity of the piece since it forces the viewer to activate their imagination. The viewer can fill in the spaces on their own by deciding for themselves where the shapes begin.

Through the use of color, Monet was able to drastically increase the complexity of these pieces. With definitive lines and expected coloration, the image would be comparable to a child's coloring book. Instead, Monet forces the viewer to engage their mind by creating a piece rich in a variety of color and lacking in definition and in general a fascinating collection.