Rouen Cathedral: West Façade, Sunlight

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.