Woman in the Garden

This is a very early Impressionist work by the group's leader, Claude Monet. The sunlight which floods the paintings of the Impressionists - who did most of their painting out of doors, directly from nature - here plays the central role. Monet spent his childhood in Le Havre, which he periodically visited. The Le Coteaux estate at Sainte-Adresse near Le Havre belonged to Monet's cousin, Paul-Eugene Lecadre. Settling here in the summer of 1867, the artist painted several landscapes in the garden of the estate, of which "Woman in the Garden" is of central importance. Dressed in the fashion of the day, the figure of a lady was posed by Lecadre's wife. This lonely silhouette introduces an elegaic, sorrowful note into the painting whilst the bright, light area of the dress plays in important role in the balancing the composition and in demonstrating the interrelationship of light and colour.

painting by Claude Monet, 1867 (Museum: Hermitage Museum)