General View Of Rouen From St.Catherines Bank 1892

Claude Monet captured this view of Rouen from Saint Catherine's Bank on canvas with oil, immortalizing a scene dominated by industrial chimneys. The plumes of smoke rising from the factories, a potent symbol of progress and modernity, evoke the ancient association of smoke with sacrifice and transformation. Consider the ritualistic burning of offerings to the gods, smoke carrying prayers heavenward. Here, though, the offering is of a different sort: coal and labor fueling the insatiable appetite of industry. This motif of smoke harkens back to the forges of Hephaestus or Vulcan, gods of the fire who worked deep in the bowels of the earth. But instead of forging weapons or ornaments, these modern fires drive the wheels of commerce, casting a veil of progress that is heavy with the weight of unconscious desires and anxieties. The symbol evolves, but the human drama remains unchanged.