Painting Collection Claude Monet Sunset at Pourville (1840—1926) When Monet returned to Normandy in 1882, he found solace in studying and painting the dramatic coastline near his hometown Le Havre, during a challenging time in his life. His wife Camille had passed away three years before, France was in the midst of a recession, and rifts were forming in the Impressionist artist group. Finding respite while staying in the small fishing village of Pourville, he created a significant body of work depicting the coastal landscape. In this beach scene, Monet painted the waning light of sunset, where the glowing orb of the sun is thickly painted and visible just above the horizon line. His fast, sketch-like brushstrokes quickly capture this fleeting moment, with wisps of blues, purples, oranges, and reds that streak across the sky and flutter across the waves. Monet contrasted the colorful sky with the limestone cliffsides that rise up on the left, darkened with brushstrokes around the edges to capture the shifting time of day. He depicted two women at leisure as witnesses, sharing this moment with the artist, but still dwarfed by the drama of the natural scene. —Danielle O'Steen, Ph.D. |
  
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