Monet moved to Argenteuil, a suburban town on the right bank of the Seine River northwest of Paris, in late December 1871. Many of the types of scenes that he and the other Impressionists favored could be found in this small town, conveniently connected by rail to nearby Paris. In this painting, Monet was less interested in capturing a likeness than in studying how unblended dabs of color could suggest the effect of brilliant sunlight filtered through leaves.
During the early 1870s, Monet frequently depicted views of his backyard garden that included his wife, Camille, and their son, Jean. However, when exhibited at the Second Impressionist Exhibition in 1876, this painting was titled more generically, "Woman Reading."
Inscription
[Signature] Lower right: Claude Monet
Provenance
Probably purchased by Paul Durand-Ruel (from the artist), Paris, November 23, 1872; purchased by Ernest Hoschedé, April 28, 1873; Sale Hoschedé, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 5-6, 1878, no. 54. Acquired by Mary Cassatt, Paris, ca. 1889; purchased by Henry Walters (through George Lucas as agent), Baltimore, 1903; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Exhibitions
2010-2011
19th Century Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum. Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, Austin.
2007
Claude Monet (1840-1926): A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff. Wildenstein & Company, New York.
2004-2005
In Monet's Light: Theodore Robinson at Giverny. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix; Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford.
2002-2004
A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte.
1999-2000
Faces of Impressionism: Portraits from American Collections. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland.
1998-1999
Monet: Late Paintings of Giverny from the Musee Marmottan. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; San Diego Museum Of Art, San Diego; Portland Art Museum, Portland.
1998
Before Monet: Landscape Painting in France and Impressionist Masters: Highlights from The Walters Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.
1995
Claude Monet 1840-1926. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.
1994
Monet: A Retrospective. Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo; Nagoya City Art Museum, Nagoya, Aici.
1989-1990
Claude Monet - Auguste Rodin: Centenaire de l’Exposition de 1889. Musee Auguste Rodin, Paris.
1980
Hommage à Claude Monet (1840-1926). Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris.
1979
A Baltimorean in Paris: George A. Lucas, 1860-1909. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.
1960
The Image Lost and Found. Metropolitan Boston Arts Center, Boston.
1957
Claude Monet. City Art Museum of Saint Louis, St. Louis; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis.
1956
The Turn of the Century: Exhibition of Masterpieces, 1880-1920. Denver Art Museum, Denver.
1954
Inaugural Exhibition at the Fort Worth Art Center. Fort Worth Art Center, Fort Worth.
1951
From Ingres to Gauguin: French Nineteenth Century Paintings Owned in Maryland. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore.
1950
Paintings by the Impressionists and Post Impressionists. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond.
1949
Monet and the Beginnings of Impressionism. The Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, Manchester.
1948
Themes and Variations in Painting and Sculpture. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore.
1942
Contrasts in Impressionism. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore.
1889
Monet-Rodin. Galerie Georges Petit, Paris.
1876
2e Exposition de Peinture. Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris.
Conservation
Date
Description
Narrative
10/25/1951
Treatment
cleaned; coated
2/1/1960
Treatment
examined for loan; frame stabilized
6/1/1971
Treatment
cleaned
3/14/1979
Examination
examined for condition
10/22/1979
Treatment
cleaned; stabilized; coated
10/22/1979
Examination
examined for loan
1/31/1989
Treatment
stabilized; coated
Measurements
H: 19 11/16 x W: 25 13/16 in. (50 x 65.5 cm); Framed H with build-up: 29 9/16 x W: 35 5/8 x D: 5 1/8 in. (75.09 x 90.49 x 13.02 cm)