Favorites from Boston Museum of Fine Arts Monet Exhibition

Ships in a Harbor, c. 1873; a Harvard professor, in 1906, donated this painting and two others which became the first Monet works in the MFA's permanent collection; this was part of a temporary exhibition dedicated to Monet

Rouen Cathedral Facade and Tour d'Albane (Morning Effect), 1894; from rooms facing the cathedral across a square, Monet concentrated on the analysis of light and its effects on the façade, changing from one canvas to another as the day progressed

Monte Carlo Seen from Roquebrune, 1884; he first visited Monte Carlo with Renoir but returned because he explained that he painted best alone; the principality has sure changed in the almost 150 years since Monet visited

Late Afternoon, Vetheuil, 1880; Renoir-'Paints in tubes, being easy to carry, allowed us to work from nature. Without paints in tubes, there would have been no Cezanne, no Monet, no Pissarro, nothing of what journalists were to call Impressionism.'

Water Lilies, 1907; Monet showed 48 pictures from this series, including this one, at Durand-Ruel's Paris gallery in 1909; Bostonian Alexander Cochrane bought it and then donated it to the Museum

Morning on the Seine, near Giverny, 1896; in the summers of 1896 and 1897 Monet set up his easel at 3:30 each morning in a boat moored just off the riverbank near his house; there he sat and painted the series of 21 canvases to which this one belongs

Poplars on the Banks of the Epte, Sunset, 1891; in the summer of 1891, Monet began a series featuring these particular trees; the trees were going to be cut for timber but Monet purchased the land so he could complete his paintings

Valley of the Petite Creuse, 1889; in 1891, Monet's dealer Durand-Ruel lent this canvas to Boston's Chase Gallery for an exhibition; the following month, Bostonian Clara Bertram Kimball purchased it with her husband bequeathing it to the Museum

Charing Cross Bridge (Overcast Day), 1900; the billowing steam suggests two trains crossing the bridge while the Westminster Bridge appears in the distance along with the Victoria Tower and Big Ben

Grainstack (Sunset), 1891; in 1890 and 1891, Monet painted a series of haystacks with the motifs seen as vehicles through which he could explore the interaction of light, color, and form over the course of the day and in different weather conditions

Fields of Poppies near Giverny, 1890; Monet's friend and politician Georges Clemenceau-'when I saw Monet (in poppy field), I had the feeling that an evolution was developing. There begins a new era in the history of feeling and in that of expressing things.'

Rouen Cathedral, Facade, 1894; apart from its religious significance, the Gothic-style Cathedral could be seen as representing all that was best in French history and culture, given that it was a style that was admired and adopted by many European countries

Sunset on the Sea, Pourville, 1882; in 1861, Monet was drafted into the army, and left Paris for Algeria (then controlled by France); Monet's father offered to pay for his son’s discharge if he would promise to give up painting, but Monet refused

Poplars at Giverny, 1887; planted at intervals in long rows, poplar trees lined roads, demarcated boundaries between properties or districts, and often followed along the banks of rivers in rural France

Flower Beds at Vetheuil, 1881; when a friend asked if he might visit Monet’s studio at Vétheuil, he retorted, 'My studio! But I’ve never had one, and I don’t understand how anyone could shut themselves into a room—perhaps to draw but not to paint.'

La Japonaise (Camille Monet in Japanese Costume), 1876; this is one of only 3 Monet's the Museum has purchased (the others were all gifts or bequests) and the only one of a figure (the other 33 are all landscapes)

The Seine at Lavacourt, 1878; Monet painted at least 8 versions of this composition showing 3 smaller versions at the 1879 Impressionist Exhibition and the largest of the series at the 1880 Paris Salon

Entrance to the Village of Vetheuil in Winter, 1879; in the early 1890s, the Boston gallery Williams and Everett sent Monet a photo of this painting, asking if he might recall it and give it a proper title; Monet did indeed reply and returned their photo

Rue de la Bavole, Honfleur, 1864; painted with great simplicity and directness, Monet's palette of pure, contrasting colors is a radical departure from the traditional practice of building up an overall tonality through delicate gradations of color