The Seine at Vetheuil 1879

Claude Monet made this landscape painting of The Seine at Vetheuil in France using oil on canvas. Monet, along with other impressionist painters, was interested in the visual experience of the natural world. But what are the social conditions that made this kind of painting possible? How did impressionism challenge the institutions of art? For centuries, the Académie des Beaux-Arts had a monopoly on artistic taste and training in France. Their aesthetic was highly conservative and they dominated the Salon system of patronage, where wealthy collectors acquired art. Monet and others broke with this system, forming their own independent exhibiting society, where they could show work that the Salon would have rejected. This landscape painting, with its focus on the ephemeral qualities of light and color, reflects the spirit of innovation that made impressionism such a progressive force. As an art historian, my job is to interpret art within its historical and institutional context, making it a richer and more meaningful experience.