Artist | Claude Monet

Year | 1872

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

50 x 65 cm

Location

Marmottan Monet Museum↗, Level -1 (Monet Gallery)

Impression, Sunrise

During a stay at the Hôtel de l'Amirauté in Le Havre around November 1872, Claude Monet painted his most famous work, Impression, Sunrise. From his bedroom window, he captured a southeastern view of the avant-port at dawn. The composition is structured by the Quai au Bois on the left and the Quai Courbe—then under construction—on the right. A central opening reveals the location of the transatlantic lock leading to the Bassin de l'Eure. Cranes, chimneys, and masts are enveloped in the mist of an autumnal dawn, while the ferrymen's boats, the vivid orange sun, and its reflections were added as Monet finished the canvas.

Painted in just a few hours, this evanescent image is remarkable for its uncommon freedom of execution. For the 1874 exhibition at Nadar's former studios, Monet titled the work simply "Impression." This term, a part of painters' jargon since the mid-19th century, signified a growing interest in capturing an atmosphere rather than a meticulous description of nature. While conservative critic Louis Leroy used the title to mockingly label the group in Le Charivari, a few days later, defender Jules Castagnary adopted the term "impressionists" with a positive meaning. It has since designated the group formed by Monet and his friends, with this painting serving as their ultimate symbol. Donated by Eugène and Victorine Donop de Monchy in 1940, this work remains a global icon.