The Seine at Giverny

Claude Monet

National Gallery of Art

The rounded, feathery canopies of trees are mirrored in the placid surface of a river in this horizontal landscape painting. The scene is loosely painted with visible dashes and strokes. The largest tree is to our right of center. Touches of cucumber and emerald green, eggplant purple, indigo blue, and smoke gray create the cloud-like canopy. More bushes and trees to either side are created with dashes of cool sky and lapis blue, mint and sage green, and muted rust red. The horizon runs across the middle of the canvas. The sky above and the reflection of it below are painted with longer, curving strokes of parchment white and pale shell pink. The artist signed the painting in the lower left corner, “Claude Monet.”