Where Is Rouen Cathedral: West Façade, Sunlight?

Q: Where can I see Monet's Rouen Cathedral?

The National Gallery of Art has one of Monet's approximately 30 Rouen Cathedral paintings. Others are at Musée d'Orsay, Metropolitan Museum, and elsewhere.

Q: Why did Monet paint the cathedral so many times?

Monet wanted to capture how light transforms a subject. The cathedral became a screen for displaying morning mist, noon glare, and evening glow.

Q: How long did Monet work on the series?

Monet worked on the Rouen Cathedral series from 1892 to 1894, painting from a rented room across the square and finishing canvases in his Giverny studio.

Working in oil on canvas, Claude Monet painted this over 30 views of Rouen Cathedral between 1892 and 1894, studying how light transformed the Gothic façade at different times of day and in different weather. This version shows the west front bathed in afternoon sunlight.

The stone dissolves into a shimmering tapestry of color: gold, rose, and lavender where sunlight strikes; blue and violet in the shadows. Monet worked from a room across the square, returning day after day to capture these fleeting effects.

The Rouen Cathedral series represents the peak of Impressionism's investigation of light. The National Gallery of Art owns this luminous example.

The National Gallery of Art has one of Monet's approximately 30 Rouen Cathedral paintings. Others are at Musée d'Orsay, Metropolitan Museum, and elsewhere.

Monet wanted to capture how light transforms a subject. The cathedral became a screen for displaying morning mist, noon glare, and evening glow.

Monet worked on the Rouen Cathedral series from 1892 to 1894, painting from a rented room across the square and finishing canvases in his Giverny studio.

Rouen Cathedral: West Façade, Sunlight

Details

Where to See It

The Artist

More by Claude Monet

Waterloo Bridge

Grainstack in Winter, Misty Weather

The Big Blue Mediterranean at Antibes

The Old Fort at Antibes

Also at National Gallery of Art

Gian Federico Madruzzo Oil Canvas Giovanni Battista[1]

Dancer in pink dress

Holy Family

The Harbor at Lorient

Related Impressionism Works

The Bellelli Family

Dancers in Blue

Two Sisters (On the Terrace)

The Star (Dancer on Stage)

Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1

Luncheon of the Boating Party

Luncheon of the Boating Party

Olympia

About Rouen Cathedral: West Façade, Sunlight

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