Rouen Cathedral, West Façade, Sunlight

1894

Oil on canvas, 100.1 × 65.8 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington

The west front of Rouen Cathedral in Normandy, seen at an angle in bright sun. It is one of more than thirty views of the façade that Monet began in 1892–93.

Up close the stone façade breaks into a thick crust of cream, blue and gold dabs. Here the visible Impressionist brushstroke becomes nearly as solid as the building.
Monet rented a room facing the cathedral's west front in 1892 and 1893.
He finished the canvases at Giverny in 1894, the year written beside his signature.
Look at the lower left corner, where a few dark strokes stand for people and give scale.
Chester Dale bought it in 1926 and left it to the National Gallery in 1963.

The Gothic front is crowded with pointed arches, spires and carved figures. Monet made changing light, not its history, the center of attention.

Themes

Durand-Ruel and the Market

Image: National Gallery of Art Open Access · Public domain