Realism: Monet and Debussy as

Realism: Monet and Debussy as Precursors of 20th Century Modernism Although modern consumers of art and music might believe that the contemporary postmodern aesthetic of self-referential art has its roots in the 20th century, in fact this spirit can be seen as early as Monet's studies of "Waterlillies" and Debussy's "Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune" (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn). These paintings and this composition offer impressionistic portraits in paint and music, not of real life, but of the artist or composer's inner life and fantasy.

Realism and rationalism is cast aside, rather both works argue that the true subject of art is to express the artist's emotional life. Monet's "Waterlilies" offer a vision, not a realistic depiction, of the title flowers and how the artist perceives the flowers. It is a portrait of Monet's inner consciousness, more than the waterlilies as a botanical study. Monet was struck by the beauty of the flowers, their intense color and arrangement.

He also was fascinated by the ways that light dappled the surface of the flowers, rendering them hazy in the sun. These elements are stressed in the composition, in contrast to say, a detailed study of the structure of the petals and leaves. No one could mistake this painting for a photograph of flowers. Monet offered a profound argument against the idea that technology could subsume art; specifically that photography could overtake the visual arts.

Instead, because Monet could find a truth within his own personal vision of the flowers that no camera lens could, art would forever have value to express the emotions of the artist. The musical composition of Debussy "Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune" similarly eschews realism in its composition. The subject matter is a fantastic mythological character, paralleling the focus on the artist's inner life in Monet's painting. The formlessness of the music parallels the formlessness and haze of Monet's lines and shadings.

Unlike conventional structures of composition like the symphony or sonata, the music offers a snapshot of emotion, with no clear beginning or end, a feeling rather than a story or a 'study' of a phenomenon. It is as if the art was improvised, much like Monet's portrait of flowers gives the impression that the artist simply happened upon a cluster of flowers one day, and was moved to paint by the beauty he saw before him.

Of course, it must be argued that neither composition, although they create such an extemporaneous impression, was truly spontaneous. Both works were carefully and consciously planned by the artist and composer respectively, they did not simply bubble forth from Monet or Debussy's emotions.

But the fact that the artists strove to create this impression is telling, and suggests a willingness to let pure emotion enter the realm of art in a way that it was not allowed to before, when standards of painting were rigorously governed by the French Academy, and when all musical compositions had to have a conventional structure. Ironically, in creating such spontaneity, Monet and Debussy were returning to earlier forms, as well as innovating. Monet painted the natural world,.