1873, Claude Monet, Camille at the Window, Argenteuil (detail) -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label:
In 1871, Monet took up residence in the Maison Aubry on rue Pierre Guienne in Argenteuil. It was situated down the street from the train station, making it possible for the artist to commute to his Paris studio and return home in the evening. Although Maison Aubry served as a frequent meeting place for Impressionist painters as well as collectors, writers, and journalists, this painting provides a rare glimpse into the interior of the Monets' home.
The painter set up his easel in the courtyard amid the property's extensive gardens, observing his wife, Camille, through a lush, successive layering of the ivy-covered facade of the house, the flower bed, and the variety of plants in the blue-and-white-glazed flowerpots. The meticulous staging of horticulture in this scene prefigures the compositional motif Monet would continue to cultivate following his move to Giverny in 1879. Framed within the large shutters of the open window, Camille's figure echoes the verticality of the potted shrubs and trees populating the lower half of the canvas. The beiges and creams of her hat, dress, and face allow her to stand out against the darkened and sparsely suggested interior.
Link to the full painting.
1873, Claude Monet, Camille at the Window, Argenteuil (detail) -- Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
From the museum label:
In 1871, Monet took up residence in the Maison Aubry on rue Pierre Guienne in Argenteuil. It was situated down the street from the train station, making it possible for the artist to commute to his Paris studio and return home in the evening. Although Maison Aubry served as a frequent meeting place for Impressionist painters as well as collectors, writers, and journalists, this painting provides a rare glimpse into the interior of the Monets' home.
The painter set up his easel in the courtyard amid the property's extensive gardens, observing his wife, Camille, through a lush, successive layering of the ivy-covered facade of the house, the flower bed, and the variety of plants in the blue-and-white-glazed flowerpots. The meticulous staging of horticulture in this scene prefigures the compositional motif Monet would continue to cultivate following his move to Giverny in 1879. Framed within the large shutters of the open window, Camille's figure echoes the verticality of the potted shrubs and trees populating the lower half of the canvas. The beiges and creams of her hat, dress, and face allow her to stand out against the darkened and sparsely suggested interior.
Link to the full painting.