An Impression of Winter by Claude Monet

What impression do you have of winter?

Perhaps you're a snowbird who escapes the cold for warmer climes.

Perhaps you're a winter sports fan who loves nothing more than gliding down the slopes with the wind in your hair and the scenic beauty whizzing past.

Perhaps you love to snuggle up next to a roaring fire, hot drink in hand, watching the snow fall.

We all have a slightly different impression of winter depending on our perspective.

In 19th-century France, a group of artists led by Claude Monet made quite an impression on the art world.

They realized that how we see the world is not in all its detail, but as an "impression", with our minds filling in the gaps.

Capturing this "impressionistic image" in paint was their specialty.

It gave them the opportunity to use color and light to convey those "fleeting moments" that stay with us as memories.

Monet loved the changing light of the seasons.

In his paintings of winter, we can feel the cold yet bask in the warmth of their beauty.

A feast for the senses. Food for the soul.