Woman Seated under the Willows

1880

Claude Monet

Artist, French, 1840 - 1926

A woman sits among loosely painted, crescent-shape blades of emerald and lemon-lime green grass, under tall trees in this vertical scene. The brushstrokes are unconnected and visible, so many of the details difficult to make out. Facing our left almost in profile, the woman’s form is suggested with thick strokes of eggshell white, periwinkle blue, mint green, and deep pink. We get the impression of a light-colored dress that pools around her hips and legs, and a hat atop dark hair. Her face is painted with an area of blush peach. The blades of grass near her are layered with shamrock and moss green against lighter areas of honeydew green. The tree trunks are painted with streaks of cobalt blue and lilac purple, and long, whip-like, spindly branches reach vertically into the sky. Dashes of lavender purple and straw yellow suggest leaves in the feathery canopies. A sand-colored band running across the composition in the distance could be a path or a river, lined on the far side by loosely painted, periwinkle-blue buildings under a pale, butter-yellow sky. The artist signed and dated the work in black paint in the lower left corner, “1880 Claude Monet.”

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    oil on canvas

  • Credit Line

    Chester Dale Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 81.1 x 60 cm (31 15/16 x 23 5/8 in.)
    framed: 102.5 x 81.6 cm (40 3/8 x 32 1/8 in.)

  • Accession

    1963.10.178

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist to (Durand-Ruel, New York and Paris); sold 22 November 1927 to Chester Dale [1882-1962], New York; bequest 1963 to NGA.[1]
[1]Date and source of acquisition according to Chester Dale papers in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1928

  • Loan Exhibition of French Masterpieces of the Late XIX Century, Durand-Ruel Galleries, New York, 1928, no. 13

1965

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

Bibliography

1929

  • Dale, Maud. Before Manet to Modigliani from the Chester Dale Collection. New York, 1929: no. 46, repro.

  • Dale, Maud. "French Art in the Chester Dale Collection." Art News (27 April 1929): 46, repro.

1942

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 51, repro., as Madame Monet under the Willows.

1944

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1944: 51, repro., as Madame Monet Under the Willows.

1953

  • French Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1953: 59, repro., as Madame Monet under the Willows.

1957

  • Shapley, Fern Rusk. Comparisons in Art: A Companion to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. London, 1957 (reprinted 1959): pl. 53, as Madame Monet under the Willows.

1963

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

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 92, as Madame Monet under the Willows.

  • Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 92, repro., as Madame Monet under the Willows.

1968

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 82, repro.

  • Gandolfo, Giampaolo et al. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Great Museums of the World. New York, 1968: 87-88, color repro.

1972

  • Rossi Bortolatto, Luigina. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Monet. Paris, c. 1972:no. 190.

1974

  • Wildenstein, Daniel. Claude Monet: biographie et catalogue raisonné. 5 vols. Lausanne and Paris, 1974-1991: 1:no. 613.

1975

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

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 491, no. 729, color repro.

1985

  • European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 278, repro.

2003

  • Monet: The Seine and the Sea. Exh. cat., National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, 2003:94, repro.

Inscriptions

lower left: 1880 Claude Monet

Wikidata ID

Q20188876

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