Blue space is associated with its benefits for physical and mental wellbeing. In Georgian times, it started to be fashionable for the wealthy to take retreats to the seaside or spa towns for their health and disposition. And since the Victorian popularity of the railway, it became possible for more and more people to enjoy this remedy. Likewise today, urbanites take refuge around blue spaces for bank holiday weekends to recover from their stressful weeks. French Impressionist Claude Monet often painted oils of water scenes, which frequently featured his signature water lilies and cliffs. Many of these paintings can be enjoyed for their calming and wellbeing benefits.
Waterlilies 1905
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Oil on canvas
H 81.9 x W 101 cm
Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales
Poplars on the Epte 1891
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Oil on canvas
H 81.8 x W 81.3 cm
National Galleries of Scotland
View of Ventimiglia 1884
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Oil on canvas
H 65.1 x W 91.7 cm
Glasgow Life Museums
La falaise à Fécamp, France 1881
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Oil on canvas
H 65 x W 81.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums
The Water-Lily Pond 1899
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Oil on canvas
H 88.3 x W 93.1 cm
The National Gallery, London
Waterlilies 1906
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Oil on canvas
H 81.6 x W 92.7 cm
Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Oil on canvas
H 38 x W 46.5 cm
The National Gallery, London
Bathers at La Grenouillère 1869
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Oil on canvas
H 73 x W 92 cm
The National Gallery, London
The Rock Needle and Porte d'Aval, Etrétat 1885 (?)
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Oil on canvas
H 64.8 x W 81 cm
The Fitzwilliam Museum