Zaandam, The Dike, Evening 1871

Claude Monet painted this oil on canvas, entitled 'Zaandam, The Dike, Evening', during his brief stay in the Netherlands in 1871. In it we see a Dutch harbor at sunset, full of boats, water and buildings. Monet was traveling, moving in the social circles of other artists and patrons. He and his fellow impressionists were seeking to represent the world as they saw it in the moment, embracing subjectivity in the face of the older, more academic traditions of painting. Monet was very interested in how the changing qualities of light altered the appearance of a scene. Here he captures the golden light of dusk falling across the water. As a historian of art, to understand more we might look at reviews of Monet’s paintings, sales records, letters between artists and dealers, and other historical sources to deepen our understanding of his role in art history and the society of his time.