Monet at Étretat · Seattle Art Museum
From July 1st to October 17th, 2021, the Seattle Art Museum presents "Monet at Étretat", an exhibition focusing on Claude Monet's fascination with the coastal town of Étretat in Normandy, France
Claude Monet - Fishing Boats at Etretat - 1885Claude Monet - The Cliffs at Etretat - 1885
Source: Seattle Art Museum and own elaboration. Images: Claude Monet: "Fishing Boats at Étretat", 1885. Claude Monet: "The Cliffs at Étretat", 1885.
The exhibition includes 10 paintings created by Monet and 12 works by other artists of his era. According to Chiyo Ishikawa, SAM’s former Curator of European Painting and Sculpture, the exhibition "reintroduces audiences to Claude Monet as a struggling artist", adding that "in these works, we see an artist pursuing what would become his legacy and make him a beloved artist to this day.”
The first gallery features three paintings by Eugène Boudin (1824–1898), Monet’s first teacher, as well as one painting by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796–1875) and by Gustave Courbet (1819-1877). In the second gallery -focused on the physical aspects of plein air painting- Monet’s "Fishing Boats at Étretat" is shown along with Charles Francois Daubigny’s "The Banks of the Oise River" and Berthe Morisot’s "Lucie Léon at the Piano". The third and final gallery includes eight paintings by Monet, all painted during his second visit to the village in 1885.
Monet and the sea: the relationship between Monet and the sea is a fascinating story that began as soon as the young artist moved, along with his family, to the coastal town of Le Havre, Normandy, in the mid-1850s. Throughout his career, Monet was drawn to the sea, first to the rocky coasts of Brittany and Normandy, and later to the Mediterranean. If you are interested in learning more about this important part of Monet's career, we recommend reading the essay "Monet and the Sea", published on theartwolf.com.

Read the full article