Universal Principles of Art

72 REPETITION

REPEATING IMAGES CREATES NEW AVENUES OF EXPRESSION

Repetition of images or elements within images can endow them with new authority, sense, or meaning. Although repeated images have always been used in decorative enterprises, repetition as an option for expression in the fine arts emerged with modernism, beginning perhaps with the series paintings of Claude Monet (1840–1926). Using a variety of motifs, including poplar trees, haystacks, and water lilies, Monet explored the play of light on the same subject under varying conditions and times of day. The resulting paintings shift the viewer’s attention from an appreciation of the subject as remade by the artist to a concentration on the technical and perceptual work of the artist ...