Money money money money, Monet.

I recently visited the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore with a colleague. They currently are featuring an exhibit entitled "Déjà Vu? Revealing Repetition in French Masterpieces." The focus is on repetition in 19th Century French painting. Perhaps one of the most famous examples of this is a series of the facade of the cathedral in Rouen, France by Claude Monet. Above are three which I have photographed. The outside two are at the National Gallery in D.C., the middle one is at the Orsay in Paris. Idealistically speaking, Monet was driven by the way that light and atmosphere make the same subject appear very differently at almost all times. As a result, the same subject could yield an entirely different painting. Our tour guide pointed out though that Monet was motivated by something more than just some high artistic ideal. He had to pay his mortgage. I find it refreshing that despite their elevation by cultural elitists to the ranking of "high art," famous painters such as Monet often faced the same pressures as filmmakers and musicians of today. For some reason though this reality, which is often used to discredit the integrity of creators of popular culture, is often overlooked when approaching the arts prior to the 20th Century. I am not saying it should be used to discredit Monet. What Monet did with the Cathedral in Rouen, and with his lily pond in Giverny, have changed the way I look at both art and reality. I just feel that contemporary communicators, despite their repetitive and commercial natures, might just be able to communicate meaning and beauty as well.