Boats on the beach – Monet

Boats on the beach – Monet – 1885

In the fall of 1885, the French painter arrived in Normandy. During this period, he faced several rainy days that confined him to his residence, at Blanquet Hotel. Thus, this painting is unique in being crafted indoors, with Monet, like many of his impressionist peers, preferring to paint in the presence of his subject. Nevertheless, Claude Monet did not dream up the content; he simply chose as his subject what he noticed through his room window. In a letter to his wife, Alice Hoschedé, he wrote: “In the afternoon, I worked from my room on my huts in the rain and then attempted, always from my window, to paint the departing boats.” Consequently, the artist used blue, pink, violet, and green hues to convey the impression of a wet ground, particularly at ground level. On the boats, he enhanced the saturation of the colors to ingrain this sensation.

Category: Monet’s Paintings

Original Format: 66 x 82.3 cm
© The Art Institute of Chicago

In showcasing Boats on the beach – Monet, we observe the artist’s incredible ability to depict the dreary weather by painting indoors. At the same time, he showcased the nautical vessels he likely viewed from the window of his room.