There have been many artists in my family,…my mom, grandmother, aunt, and great grandfather. My appreciation of paintings from diverse artistic genres obviously came from those before me. I have always loved art by the impressionist painters. We visited the fine collection of Impressionism at the Museum of Fine in Boston. Marla admires works by Renoir in the photo above.

“Everything that is painted directly and on the spot always has strength, a power, and a vivacity of touch one cannot recover in the studio. Three strokes of the brush in front of nature are worth more than two days of work at the easel in the studio.” Eugene Boudin 1824-1898.

Renoir painted outdoors (en plein air) alongside Monet in the 1860’s. The painting above is “Landscape on the Coast, near Menton” 1883. We will soon be celebrating a big birthday in Menton with our family.

Renoir’s “Woman with a Parasol and Small Child on a Sunlit Hillside” about 1874-76.

Frits Thaulow,(Norwegian), 1847-1906. “River View”

Alfred Sisley (British, active in France, 1839-1899. “La Croix-Blanche at Saint-Mammes” 1884.

Marla admires Frits Thaulow’s 1894 painting “Skiers at the Top of a Snow-covered Hill.”

Beautiful collection of paintings by Monet.

Monet’s painting “Camille Monet and a Child in the Artist’s Garden in Argenteuil” 1875.

Monet’s “Boulevard Saint-Denis, Argenteuil. in Winter” 1875.

Monet’s “Flower Beds at Vetheuil” 1881.

I love the plein air paintings by Monet like this one, “Road at La Cavee, Pourville”, 1882.

Mystical “Poplars on the Banks of the Epte, Sunset” 1891 by Monet.

This lifesize painting by Claude Monet, “La Japonaise” 1876, is Monet’s wife, Camille, wearing a blond wig to emphasize her Western identity. She wears a splendid kimono and is surrounded by fans.

This unusually intimate 1884 painting is “Man at his Bath” by Gustave Caillebotte.

“Duchessa di Montejasi with Her Daughters, Elena and Camilla” , about 1876, was Edgar Degas’ last great family portrait.

I’ll post a part 2 on the MFA’s Impressionism collection.