Claude Monet (1840–1926)
1880–81
Oil paint on canvas
60 x 99 cm
Acquired by Oskar Reinhart in 1924
In the winter of 1879, when Claude Monet was living in Vétheuil, northwest of Paris, the Seine froze over and flooded its banks when the ice broke up. This work is one of the most experimental of the more than 20 paintings he made depicting this dramatic event. His treatment of the ice in bold strokes of paint carries an almost abstract quality.
The palette of blues and greys vividly evokes a freezing day, while the poplars, rendered with long, smeared brushstrokes, seem as insubstantial as their reflections in the river. Monet immerses his viewers in the scene, placing them amidst the ice floes.