Impression, Sunrise by Claude Monet

Monet painted this canvas during a stay in Le Havre, a city that held a special meaning for him, as it was his birthplace. At the time, Le Havre was a thriving port carried by the Industrial Revolution, and it looked nothing like the city we know today, before the bombings and destruction of the Second World War.

According to art historians such as Daniel Wildenstein, Impression, Sunrise was most likely painted from the window of a room at the Hôtel de l'Amirauté. Its date of execution is thought to be 1873 or 1874, even though it was dated 1872 when it was sold.

The work is fairly small, measuring about 19 inches high by 25 inches wide (48 by 63 cm). Depicting the outer harbor of Le Havre, it was shown at the first exhibition of the Société anonyme des artistes peintres, sculpteurs et graveurs, held in Paris from April 15 to May 15, 1874.

Critical reception was mixed. Ernest Chesneau saw in the canvas something of a sunrise over the Thames, detecting the influence of Turner and James Whistler, whom Monet had met in London in 1871.

Impression, Sunrise was acquired by Ernest Hoschedé, the first husband of Alice Hoschedé, who would later become Monet's companion. 

In the foreground, the silhouette of a small boat carrying two fishermen stands out against a sea tinted blue-green. A little further off, a second craft deepens the sense of perspective. The painting favors cool tones, save for the red-orange disc of the sun, which pierces the half-light and is reflected in the rippling water.

In the background, emerging from the haze, lies the industrial port of Le Havre, with its sailing ships, steamers, cranes, and factory chimneys. The tide is high, as the position of the boats reveals.

The composition is horizontal and divided into three distinct bands. The upper third, made of horizontal strokes, is the sky. The two lower thirds are given over to the waters of the harbor. The painting sets out to capture a fleeting moment suspended between night and day.

The contrast, though discreet, is no less striking. Two worlds meet: day and night, but also the old world, with its fishermen in their boats and its bucolic scene of life, while the future, the world of industry, emerges in the distance.

Impression, Sunrise reveals Monet's talent and underlines the central place of light in Impressionist works.

• Artist: Claude Monet. 
• Subject: the outer harbor of Le Havre at dawn. 
• Dimensions: about 19 inches high by 25 inches wide (48 by 63 cm). 
• First shown in Paris from April 15 to May 15, 1874. 

Continue your journey through Monet's art with canvases such as Poppies or Woman in a Green Dress. We also recommend three of his great series: the Water Lilies, the Saint-Lazare Station, and the Haystacks.