The Magpie

Claude Monet completed this snow scene during the winter of 1868-1869 near Étretat in Normandy. A solitary magpie perches on a wooden gate, surrounded by brilliant white snow and long blue shadows. The painting revolutionized how artists depicted snow, replacing the dull grays of academic painting with vibrant blues, violets, and yellows.

The Paris Salon rejected this painting in 1869, finding it too sketchy and unfinished. A century later, the Musée d'Orsay acquired it, and it became one of their most beloved works. Monet painted approximately 140 snow scenes throughout his career, but The Magpie remains his finest, capturing the first major example of Impressionist colored shadows.