Banks of the Seine, Vétheuil

1880

Claude Monet

Artist, French, 1840 - 1926

We look across a strip of tall grass and flowers at a river that winds into the distance in this loosely painted, horizontal landscape. The lower half of the composition is a mass of tall wildflowers created with daubs of lemon yellow and white among vertical strokes of moss, laurel, and pine green. The river beyond is painted with horizontal dashes of arctic, denim, and cobalt blue. The horizon comes about two-thirds of the way up the composition and is lined with tall, narrow trees, trees with rounded canopies, and a blanket of green growth loosely painted and shaded with touches of blue. The sky above is painted with blended strokes of slate blue and cream white. The sky is paler to the right, suggesting sunlight breaking through some of the clouds. The artist signed and dated the painting with red in the lower right corner: “Claude Monet 80.”

Media Options

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On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 80

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 73.4 x 100.5 cm (28 7/8 x 39 9/16 in.)
    framed: 100.3 x 127.6 x 9.5 cm (39 1/2 x 50 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.)

  • Accession

    1963.10.177

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

From the artist to James F. Sutton [d. 1915], New York; by inheritance to his wife; (Sutton sale, American Art Association, New York, 26 October 1933, no. 48); purchased by Chester Dale [1882-1962], New York; bequest 1963 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1965

  • The Chester Dale Bequest, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1965, unnumbered checklist.

2010

  • From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, January 2010-January 2012, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

Bibliography

1942

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 52, repro.

1944

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1944: 52, repro.

1948

  • Kimball, Fiske and Lionello Venturi. Great Paintings in America. New York, 1948:no. 85, repro.

1953

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1953: 57, repro.

1960

  • The National Gallery of Art and Its Collections. Foreword by Perry B. Cott and notes by Otto Stelzer. National Gallery of Art, Washington (undated, 1960s): 24, color repro. 22.

1962

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. Treasures from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1962: 162, color repro.

1963

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 326, repro.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 92.

  • Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 90, repro.

1966

  • Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds. A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 2:452, color repro.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 81, repro.

1972

  • Rossi Bortolatto, Luigina. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Monet. Paris, c. 1972:no. 201.

1974

  • Wildenstein, Daniel. Claude Monet: biographie et catalogue raisonné. 5 vols. Lausanne and Paris, 1974-1991: 1:no. 597.

1975

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 240, repro.

1981

  • Seiberling, Grace. "Monet's Series." Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, New Haven, 1976: 52-53.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 491, no. 724, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 277, repro.

1998

  • Zeidler, Birgit. Claude Monet: Leben und Werk. Cologne, 1998:53, repro.

2000

  • Défossez, Marie-Paule. Les Grands Peintres du Val-d'Oise. Valhermeil, 2000:85, repro.

Inscriptions

lower right: Claude Monet 80

Wikidata ID

Q20188857

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