Location📍 National Gallery of Art → West Building Main Floor, Gallery M80

Rouen Cathedral, West Façade

Painted in 1875, Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son depicts the artist's wife, Camille, and their son, Jean, on a hillside. Claude Monet worked quickly to record this moment in a single outdoor session, a celebration of color and light. Camille stands at the center, holding a moss-green parasol, with her body facing left while she turns her head to look at us. Beside her, Jean stands on the other side of the hill, looking into the distance. Monet used loose, choppy brushstrokes throughout, sketching the sky in chaotic strokes of blue and gray while leaving areas of canvas exposed. The grass is densely painted in short brushstrokes of green, blue, and brown, dotted with yellow buttercups and plum purple. Brilliant white slashes on Camille's skirt and jacket catch the light, and white strokes across her face suggest a fluttering veil. The artist signed and dated the painting in royal-blue letters at the lower right.