him as a picture, framed by the two flagpoles that carve the view into a rectangle. The two French flags blowing in the wind dominated the picture and separated the three horizontal bands of the painting, the terrace, the sea, and the clear sky with very little cotton clouds that provided the vertical balance. The design itself is totally peculiar, with the faces of the people turned away from the viewer. Many boats and ships can be seen in the background. When Monet painted a sea populated with boats, he was working in a well-established marine tradition. By this time he would have known Courbet's marines, and those whistlers too, in which the empty sea, whether dominated by a single wave or representing as a cool band. Some of the boats have smoke coming out and are shown as simple, irresistible images of infinity. This view of the sea makes the observer feel peaceful and tranquil. The "Terrace at Sainte- Adresse" became a model for a host of other subjects opening up the possibility of composition that was above all else parallel, frontal, and embracing. These portrait shapes on the horizon are sharply geometric and furnishing to the oriental pastel tone of the painting. While Monet's treatment of the sky is flat, the sea show signs of his fascination with its every changing color and a fascination that emerges strongly about his family. Monet's idea for this painting was to capture reality and analyze the ever-changing nature of light and color. The freedom of his brushwork and the paint that he used which is oil on canvas was audacious use of color in his work was to record his surroundings faithfully from Paris. Monet's work was very detailed and dreamy. The beauty of "Terrace at Sainte-Adresse" was based on the gardens and the ocean front view that he created at Giverny in northeastern France. ...
