Stormy Sea in Étretat
Encyclopedia
The Stormy Sea in Étretat is an 1883 painting by founder of French impressionist
Claude Monet
, now preserved at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
.
The painting depicts a stormy sea on a winter day. The cliff that can be seen is that of Étretat
(Seine Maritime), as Monet stayed in the city many times from the winter 1864-1865, and wrote: "I spend my time outdoors on the stone when it's big time [...] and of course I work all the time." Monet composed the painting in February 1883 from the window of the hotel he lived then. Subsequently, the painting was bought by the Parisian dealer Paul Durand-Ruel
, then became the property of the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon in 1902. The museum thus became a precursor gaining early in the twentieth century Impressionist paintings.
The painting is composed of four major elements, each of them having been painted in a different way. The central part is invaded by the pearlized surfs painted in forms of comma
s. In the foreground, a small beach on which there are old boats filled with thatch on the left, and two fishermen with their boats in poor condition that ran aground on the shore. On the left, in the background, the cliff
of Étretat can be seen and the rock strata are evoked by horizontal lines of brush. Finally, the upper part of the painting shows the sky, painted in a way that expresses a curtain of rain.
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
Claude Monet
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007...
, now preserved at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon
Musée des beaux-arts de Lyon
The Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon is a municipal museum of fine arts in the French city of Lyon. It is housed near place des Terreaux in a former Benedictine convent of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was restored between 1988 and 1998, and despite these important restoration works it remained open...
.
The painting depicts a stormy sea on a winter day. The cliff that can be seen is that of Étretat
Étretat
Étretat is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France. It is a tourist and farming town situated c. 32 km northeast of Le Havre, at the junction of the D940, D11 and D139 roads. It's located on the coast of the Pays de Caux area.-The...
(Seine Maritime), as Monet stayed in the city many times from the winter 1864-1865, and wrote: "I spend my time outdoors on the stone when it's big time [...] and of course I work all the time." Monet composed the painting in February 1883 from the window of the hotel he lived then. Subsequently, the painting was bought by the Parisian dealer Paul Durand-Ruel
Paul Durand-Ruel
Paul Durand-Ruel was a French art dealer who is associated with the Impressionists. He was one of the first modern art dealers who provided support to his painters with stipends and solo exhibitions....
, then became the property of the Museum of Fine Arts in Lyon in 1902. The museum thus became a precursor gaining early in the twentieth century Impressionist paintings.
The painting is composed of four major elements, each of them having been painted in a different way. The central part is invaded by the pearlized surfs painted in forms of comma
Comma
A comma is a type of punctuation mark . The word comes from the Greek komma , which means something cut off or a short clause.Comma may also refer to:* Comma , a type of interval in music theory...
s. In the foreground, a small beach on which there are old boats filled with thatch on the left, and two fishermen with their boats in poor condition that ran aground on the shore. On the left, in the background, the cliff
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
of Étretat can be seen and the rock strata are evoked by horizontal lines of brush. Finally, the upper part of the painting shows the sky, painted in a way that expresses a curtain of rain.