Comparisons to Monet Bothered This Artist. Now They’re Side by Side. A Long Long Time Ago.
There’s a time in the middle of a sentence, just as the author thinks it’s the last one I’m going to say, when there is no more to say. Which brings me back to the subject in mind. And to this question: Did Mary Margaret Crawford paint the Monet in the Monet? No, she didn’t. And we have to ask ourselves: Why?
Before I begin, I should mention that we should also consider the other side of the same coin: How did those in the 18th century – that is, the artist’s time – make the impression of the Monet? How did those from the 19th century, in time to understand their world, make the impression of this Monet? It’s not a simple one.
In the Monet of the 18th century, in the eyes of the artist’s contemporaries, the artist was only a minor figure in the universe. There was a whole other field in which the artist played a part. Not that he was excluded from their world, but he was considered to be a very minor player. After all, he was a painter.
In the 19th century, on the other hand, the artist became an important figure in the world, a real participant in the process of evolution of the art form, and this was a real paradigm shift in artistic history. If you take a look at the Monet of the 19th century, the artist is not only a painter, but a true artist. He is a creator, one who can make an impression on people and be understood; as a painter, he was considered to be second only to nature.
‘Crawford did not, by any stretch of the imagination, paint the Monet.’ – William McDonough
Mary Margaret Crawford
This artist, who now stands in front of us, was born on January 12, 1828 in New Haven. She married Henry Crawford, a student and