The Valley of the Seine, from the Hills of Giverny

1892

Theodore Robinson

Painter, American, 1852 - 1896

From atop a high hill, we look across a broad valley leading to a winding river in this loosely painted horizontal landscape. The scene is created entirely with visible brushstrokes in fresh and vibrant green and shimmering and smoky blues. The hill slopes from the right edge of the painting down to the valley, which extends into the distance, angling slightly to our right alongside the river. Darker green trees are along both sides of the river, and a few buildings line the far bank. The land beyond rises to sapphire-blue hills along the horizon, which comes about two-thirds of the way up the composition. A few white clouds dot the robin’s egg-blue sky above.

Media Options

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A sunlit landscape set in the outskirts of Giverny, 45 miles northwest of Paris, this painting is one in a series of three closely related views completed by Theodore Robinson in the summer of 1892, and reflects the influence of Robinson's friend, French impressionist painter Claude Monet. Monet had settled in Giverny in 1883, and Robinson, a frequent visitor to the picturesque town, befriended the well-known but aloof master. Over their years of friendship, Monet influenced Robinson's work in notable ways, inspiring him to lighten his palette and to relax the highly polished painting techniques acquired from his academic training. Most importantly, by referencing Monet's practice, Robinson began to create multiple works depicting the same subject under different effects of light and weather.

By early August 1892, Robinson had completed the ambitious series of three sweeping panoramas of which this is a part. To accurately capture the play of sunlight and clouds on the meadows, Robinson alternated working on the three canvases as weather conditions shifted. The present painting depicts the sunniest of the scenes; the second sun-filled painting, Valley of the Seine, is owned by the Addison Gallery of American Art (Andover, MA). The third painting, also titled Valley of the Seine, but depicting the area under cloud cover, is in the collection of the Maier Museum of Art (Lynchburg, VA). Encouraged by Monet's praise, Robinson sent the Addison Gallery canvas to the Society of American Artists exhibition in the spring of 1893. Although the other two paintings would not be publicly exhibited until after the artist's untimely death in 1896, the series remained a touchstone of artistic achievement for Robinson throughout his career.

On View

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 70

Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist; (his estate sale, American Art Association, New York, 24 March 1898); William T. Evans [1843-1918], New York; (his sale, American Art Association, New York, 31 January - 2 February 1900); Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; acquired 2014 by the National Gallery of Art.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1898

  • Oil Paintings and Studies by the Late Theodore Robinson, American Art Galleries, New York, 1898, no. 39.

1900

  • American Paintings Belonging to William T. Evans, American Art Galleries, New York, 1900, no. 250.

1951

  • American Landscape Painting from Kensett to the Present, Howard University, Washington, 1951, no catalogue.

1954

  • Extended loan, The White House, Washington, 1954-1959.

1961

  • American Landscape Painters 1800-1960, Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, 1961, no. 28.

1971

  • Americans at Home and Abroad, Meredith Long and Co., Houston, 1971, no .29.

1972

  • Conservation in the Museum, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 1972, unpublished checklist.

1973

  • Theodore Robinson, 1852-1896, Baltimore Museum of Art; Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Ohio; Worcester Art Museum; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha; Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, 1973-1974, no. 43.

1980

  • La Pintura de los Estados Unidos de Museos de la Ciudad de Washington [Painting in the United States from Public Collections in Washington], Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, 1980-1981, no. 34.

1982

  • Impressionistes Américains, Musée du Petit Palais, Paris; National Galerie, Staatlich Museum zu Berlin; Museum moderner Kunst, Vienna; Art Museum of the Socialist Republic of Romania, Bucharest; National Gallery of Art, Sofia, Bulgaria, 1982-1983, no. 55.

1987

  • Novye Gorizonty: Amerikanska i a zhivopis' 1840-1910, State Tretyakov Museum, Moscow; State Russian Museum, Leningrad; Minsk State Museum of Belorussiya; National Museum of Western and Oriental Art, Kiev, 1987-1988, no. 42.

1990

  • Landscaft im Licht: Impressionistiche Malerei in Europa und Nordamerika, 1860-1910, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, 1990, no. 158.

1992

  • Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France, Musée Américain, Giverny, 1992, no. 8.

1993

  • Extended loan to for use by the Ambassador to France, U.S. Embassy residence, Paris, 1993-1997.

1999

  • American Impressionism: Selections from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Strathmore Hall Arts Center, North Bethesda, Maryland, 1999, unnumbered catalogue.

2003

  • The Impressionist Tradition in America, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 2003-2004, unpublished checklist.

2004

  • In Monet's Light: Theodore Robinson at Giverny, Baltimore Museum of Art; Phoenix Art Museum; Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, 2004-2005, no. 57.

2005

  • Encouraging American Genius: Master Paintings from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Parrish Art Museum, Southampton; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, 2005-2007, checklist no. 58.

2008

  • The American Evolution: A History through Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 2008, unpublished checklist.

2009

  • American Paintings from the Collection, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 6 June-18 October 2009, unpublished checklist.

2013

  • American Journeys: Visions of Place, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, 21 September 2013-28 September 2014, unpublished checklist.

Bibliography

1905

  • "American Collections: The Collection of Mr. George A. Hearn." Collector and Art Critic 4, 2 (December 1905): 49.

1946

  • Baur, John I.H. Theodore Robinson, 1852-1896. Brooklyn, 1946: 79, no. 242.

1947

  • Corcoran Gallery of Art. Handbook of the American Paintings in the Collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Washington, 1947: 14, 58.

1973

  • Phillips, Dorothy W. A Catalogue of the Collection of American Paintings in the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Vol. 2: Painters born from 1850 to 1910. Washington, 1973: 6, repro.

2011

  • Larkin, Susan G. "Theodore Robinson, The Valley of the Seine, from the Hills of Giverny." In Corcoran Gallery of Art: American Paintings to 1945. Edited by Sarah Cash. Washington, 2011: 33, 176-177, 273, repro.

Wikidata ID

Q20190353

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