Monet's Étretat: Destination and Motif

Exhibition Website

Sep 7 2017 - Dec 31 2017

Claude Monet's name is forever associated with innovative painting techniques and the dramatic landscape of Normandy, France.  This exhibition celebrates one of the artist's most enduring subjects--Étretat.  Featuring two major oil paintings by Claude Monet, on loan from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, of the quaint fishing village and the surrounding majestic cliffs of Étretat: The Manneporte (Étretat) and The Manneporte near Étretat, painted in 1883 and 1886, respectively. Also on display: The Cliffs at Étretat (1890) by William Henry Lipppincott and Sunset, Étretat (1892) by George Inness on loan from Terra Foundation of American Art.

Monet went to this small fishing village on the Normandy coast dozens of times throughout his long life.  He painted it from numerous angles and under varying weather conditions.  Monet was far from alone in discovering inspiration in the natural arches that sprung into the ocean from the chalky cliffs above the Atlantic. Many other artists also explored the site in the late 19th century, drawn by guidebooks and other popular writing about the natural wonders of Étretat.  

Monet's Étretat: Destination and Motif explores the reasons for such lasting, international attraction through impressive works by Monet, George Inness, and others. 

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.         

  • Painting
  • European
  • 19th Century
  • Landscape
  • Impressionism
  • Claude Monet
  • George Inness
  • and others

Exhibition Venues & Dates