Artist | Claude Monet (1840 - 1926)

Year | 1892

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

100 x 65 cm

Location

Marmottan Monet Museum → Level -1, Monet Gallery

Rouen Cathedral, Setting Sun, End of Day

In 1892, Monet stayed in apartments facing Rouen Cathedral to undertake a large-scale project painting the western portal from various angles and at different times of the day, a task that occupied him from February to April for two consecutive years. Working on as many as nine canvases a day, Monet was deeply immersed in this endeavor. Critics highly praised the artist's experimentation and desire to push the boundaries of painting through unprecedented research. This version, held at the Musée Marmottan Monet, does not yet possess the thicker texture seen in other canvases of the series. Monet interpreted the stone in contact with the sun through a harmony of pink, beige, and yellow, contrasting with the shaded areas suggested by mauve and blue tints.