First time I saw Monet paintings in real life.

I have been introduced to the works of Impressionist Claude Monet when I was taking up Humanities II, a course taught then by Dr Paul Zafaralla in UPLB. Back then, we only had access to photos of the artworks we were studying. So when I learned that the Legion of Honour housed some of the most extensive collections of European art from different periods, I wanted to go and visit.

I particularly like Monet paintings when I first saw photos of them in college because what Monet painted was what I saw when I didn't wear my eyeglasses (back then). Everything I saw was just blurred without my glasses because I have myopia. It has since progressed so I see more splashes of colour than blurry images these days (the glasses help correct my eyesight). 

Reading up on his style, I learned that Monet actually had cataracts when he was painting these landscapes on canvas. So these paintings probably show his view of the world when he was visually impaired.

What I like most about these paintings is that Monet focused on how light was bouncing off the subjects, rather than concentrating on developing clean outlines. This gives an impression of movement, thanks to the waves in the pond and the sea, and to the wind blowing through the hill's grassy patches. The movement distort the way light hits the subjects; hence the blurry images.

As I finished my tour of the Impressionist collection, I wished that students get the chance to see these in real life, rather than just seeing the photos of the paintings. At this point, I don't care if students just go to the museum to have photo ops to update their social media accounts. Echoing my Soc Sci II teacher, I believe that students who visit museums will (eventually) start actually looking at the exhibits and the stories behind them when they start getting exposed to them. The most important thing now is to actually get them through the door of hallowed halls of learning outside the four walls of the classroom.