Author Archives: XIAOLIN HUANG

The artwork I selected is Vetheuil in Summer by Claude Monet. Claude Monet is a French artist. His active period was during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Claude Monet is the founder of impressionism, which became a core feature of modernist artwork. Claude Monet is a master at using colors, lights, and shadows in terms of expression. Monet experimented with the combination of light and color by depicting the same spot at different seasons and drawing a conclusion on the application of color in expressing impressionism.

Vetheuil in Summer was created in 1880. The artwork depicted the view of Vetheuil from the opposite side of the Seine river bank. The painting is a typical representative work of Claude Monet in terms of color and light depiction. Monet’s art focused on accurately recording the sensation of color and light in nature, which is a reputation of modernism in the visual arts. Modernism focuses on the reflection of society, nature, and the real lives of people in artworks. While Impressionism focused more on depicting light and shadow in nature, it emphasized conveying ideas from nature and ideas from humanity instead of only recording nature and human activities.

This painting is not my favorite work among Monet’s paintings, but it was the most outstanding to me during this visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The contrast of the indoor lighting at the museum and the sunlight outside made this bright painting of a sunny afternoon at the Seine River bank catch my attention. The painting illustrates the ideal sunny afternoon that’s always in my imagination. The combination of the blurry contour of objects and the use of bright color conveyed the feeling of being at the river bank instead of how it looks at the river bank. By looking at the painting, I can sense the warm breeze of early spring and the joy of a relaxing day.

Hello everyone in ENG 2850, My name is XiaoLin. For those who find it difficult to pronounce my name, you can also refer to me as Charlene. My major was International Business and I transferred to psychology lately. I took a three-semester-gap and returned to Baruch in Summer 2023, therefore it’s my third year in Baruch but I am still a sophomore.

I moved to the US at the age of 12 with my mother. It’s my tenth year living in New York. During vacations, I usually travel to other countries for the first half and spend the second half to take a good rest in the city. I often carry a book, a pen, and a notebook around the city to visit new parks, museums, coffee shops, and restaurants. I enjoyed reading at different places and writing down my feelings at the time. Being alone is my important source of inspiration for life.

Also, I have hobbies other than staying with paper and books. Hanging out with friends, listening to music, playing piano and guitar, and playing games (mostly on PS5 and Switch) are my other habits. If anyone has the same habits and looking for friends, you could reach out to me.

For those who are interested, I am a Pisces, and my MBTI (personality type) is INFP.

I am looking forward to spending this beautiful semester with all of you!