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Rapids on the Petite Creuse at Fresselines

1889
Not on view

Monet spent the spring of 1889 painting the landscape around the confluence of two rivers, the Petite Creuse and the Grande Creuse, at the village of Fresselines in central France. For this view, which is nearly identical to another picture (private collection), he positioned his easel on the steep bank of the ravine edging the Petite Creuse, looking down on the shallow rapids from above. The resulting composition omits the sky and other indicators of depth, creating an ambiguous space that produces a strongly two-dimensional effect. Monet included numerous Creuse scenes among his 145 submissions to a blockbuster joint exhibition with sculptor Auguste Rodin in the summer of 1889 at Galerie Georges Petit in Paris.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Rapids on the Petite Creuse at Fresselines
  • Artist: Claude Monet (French, Paris 1840–1926 Giverny)
  • Date: 1889
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 25 3/4 x 36 1/8 in. (65.4 x 91.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot (1876-1967), 1967
  • Object Number: 67.187.88
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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Haystacks (Effect of Snow and Sun)
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The Four Trees, Claude Monet French, Oil on canvas
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Claude Monet
1891
The Seine at Vétheuil, Claude Monet French, Oil on canvas
The Seine at Vétheuil
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