Leo Martínez
Impressionist painter Claude Monet created a series of paintings of Rouen Cathedral in the 1890s, capturing the Gothic architecture in different lighting and weather conditions. Monet's aim was to demonstrate the interplay between the permanent, solid structure of the cathedral and the ever-changing light, which constantly shifts our perception of it. He produced over thirty paintings of the cathedral's facade, working from temporary studios across the square from the cathedral in Rouen, and later in his studio in Giverny.
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What You'll Learn
Monet's use of light and colour
French impressionist Claude Monet painted the Rouen Cathedral series in the 1890s. The series includes more than thirty paintings, capturing the façade of Rouen Cathedral at different times of the day and year, reflecting changes in its appearance under varying lighting conditions.
The density of paint on the canvases, built up in layers, adds to the visual experience. The interweaving of colours and the use of texture create a series of shimmering images, capturing the grandeur of the cathedral. The subtle changes in light and colour from one canvas to the next affect our perception of the subject, highlighting Monet's mastery in manipulating these elements.
Monet's attention to light and colour is further emphasised by his choice of vantage points. He painted from rooms across the square from the cathedral, capturing the whole width of the façade, the portal, and the towers. Working throughout the day, he painted multiple canvases simultaneously, each recording the changing appearance of the façade as time progressed.
The exhibition of these paintings as a group enhanced the effect of light and colour. When exhibited together, the dreamlike quality imparted by the shifting light on the cathedral's façade became more pronounced. The ensemble of canvases, with their varying hues and lighting conditions, contributed to a unique visual experience.
In conclusion, Monet's use of light and colour in the Rouen Cathedral series is a key element that distinguishes these works. His exploration of light's influence on perception, combined with his adept handling of colour and texture, resulted in a captivating portrayal of the cathedral's façade that continues to inspire and fascinate viewers.
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The cathedral's Gothic architecture
Rouen Cathedral, the subject of over thirty paintings by Claude Monet, is a Gothic cathedral in the Normandy region of France. Construction began in 1030 and was completed in 1506. Rouen was once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, and the cathedral is a testament to its grandeur. The cathedral's Gothic architecture, with its intricate facade hewn from monochrome stone, is a style that was admired and adopted by many European countries during the Middle Ages.
The Gothic style first originated in France and then spread throughout Europe. It is characterised by elements such as stained glass, flying buttresses, and intricate details like gargoyles. The Rouen Cathedral incorporates these features, with elegant flying buttresses adorned with pinnacles surrounding the nave on both sides. The cathedral also has a central lantern tower, a traditional feature of Gothic architecture in Normandy. This tower, with its spire, rises to a height of 151 meters, making it the tallest of the cathedral's three towers.
The Gothic design of Rouen Cathedral also includes new Renaissance features, incorporated by Cardinal-Archbishop Georges d'Amboise in the 15th century. He added a new tower to match the existing Saint-Romaine tower, built almost three centuries earlier. The new tower, nicknamed the Butter Tower, introduced ambitious Renaissance touches. Another notable feature of the cathedral is the Tour Saint Romain, built in the new Gothic style starting in 1145. This tower was the first stage of a complete reconstruction of the cathedral, which included the demolition of the Romanesque nave and the construction of the western end of the sanctuary.
The Gothic architecture of Rouen Cathedral provided a unique challenge for Monet, who was drawn to the intricate facade and the way light played upon it at different times of the day and in varying atmospheric conditions. Monet's paintings capture the cathedral's facade from different vantage points, showcasing its traceries, sculptures, pilasters, and sunken portals. He built up layers of paint, much like the masonry of the facade itself, creating a dense and textured surface that shimmered with light and colour. Monet's Rouen Cathedral series highlights the interplay between the solid, permanent structure and the ever-changing light, capturing the paradox between the two.
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Monet's vantage points
Monet's Rouen Cathedral series, painted in the 1890s, consists of over thirty canvases, capturing the Gothic cathedral's façade at different times of the day and year, reflecting changes in its appearance under varying lighting and weather conditions. The artist's sensitivity to the observed natural effects and his manipulation of his medium are notable aspects of these paintings.
Monet painted the Rouen Cathedral series from various vantage points, choosing five different points of view, with slight variations in angles and perspectives. He worked from rooms across the square from the cathedral, capturing the western façade, the portal, the Tour de Beurre, and the Tour d'Albane. Two of the paintings were created from an unoccupied apartment, offering the most frontal view of the façade, while others were painted from a ladies' clothing shop and other stores nearby, providing different angles and perspectives.
The artist's choice of vantage points allowed him to explore the intricate details of the cathedral's façade, emphasising its traceries, sculptures, pilasters, and sunken portals. By working in close proximity to the subject, Monet was able to capture the subtle changes in light and atmospheric conditions throughout the day, resulting in a range of colours across the canvases, from mauves and greens to pinks and oranges.
Monet's decision to paint from these specific vantage points contributed to the psychological aspect he imbued in the paintings, as the slight asymmetry and absence of continuous lines created a feeling of instability. This perspective, with its dense application of paint and focus on the mutable nature of light and architecture, became a defining characteristic of the series.
The Rouen Cathedral series marked a departure for Monet, as he explored the interplay between the physical structure and the effects of light and weather. The paintings challenged traditional representations of architecture, emphasising the subjective nature of perception and the passing of time.
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Monet's painting technique
Claude Monet, one of the most renowned painters in the history of art, created a series of paintings depicting Rouen Cathedral, with a unique approach and technique that characterized his impressive body of work. Through this series, Monet explored the effects of light and atmosphere on the perception of the cathedral's facade at different times of the day and year. In total, he created approximately thirty paintings of Rouen Cathedral, each offering a slightly different perspective and atmospheric condition.
To achieve his desired effects, Monet utilized a variety of brushstrokes and painting techniques. He often applied paint with short, rapid brushstrokes, creating a sense of movement and energy in his paintings. This technique, known as impasto, involved applying paint thickly, giving the surface of the canvas a textured appearance. By using this method, Monet was able to capture the play of light on the cathedral's facade, creating a vibrant and almost luminous effect.
Another important aspect of Monet's technique was his use of color. He often used a limited palette, focusing on a few key colors and their variations. For the Rouen Cathedral series, he predominantly used shades of blue, pink, and yellow, capturing the subtle changes in color caused by the shifting light. Monet's use of color was not just about representation, but also about creating a mood and an emotional response.
Monet's dedication to capturing the essence of his subject matter went beyond simply painting what he saw. He often studied his motifs intensely, sometimes for hours, before even picking up his brush. This deep observation allowed him to understand the underlying structures and forms, which he could then interpret through his unique impressionist style. In the case of Rouen Cathedral, he studied the architecture and the way the light played across its intricate details.
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The series' critical reception
The Rouen Cathedral series by Claude Monet was painted in the 1890s and consists of over thirty paintings of the facade of Rouen's Gothic cathedral in Normandy, France. The series was well-timed, coinciding with a revival of interest in Catholicism in France in the early 1890s.
Monet's intention was for the paintings to be viewed as a group, and he selected twenty to exhibit in his dealer Durand-Ruel's gallery in Paris in 1895. The exhibition received a mixed response from critics, partly due to the religious nature of the building depicted. Some critics found a dreamlike quality in the way light played upon the cathedral's facade, a quality perhaps heightened by seeing twenty canvases together.
The series impressed artists such as Camille Pissarro and Paul Cézanne, who visited the exhibition and praised the works highly. Wassily Kandinsky also saw one of the paintings in an exhibition in Moscow in 1895 and was impressed, suggesting that they were the first abstract paintings in the history of art:
> "And suddenly, for the first time, I saw a picture. I read in the catalogue that it was a haystack, but I could not recognize it (…) I realized that there the object of the picture was missed (…) What I had perfectly present was the unsuspected -and until then hidden- power of the palette…“
Art historian Joachim Pissarro's analysis, published in his 1990 book "Monet’s Cathedral", revealed that Monet painted the cathedral's western facade in shifting weather and lighting conditions. Monet's use of colour was also notable, with jewel-like and opalescent hues that created a sense of instability in the composition. This density of paint and use of colour was a departure from the typical "light touch" associated with Impressionism.
Monet's technique involved building up layers of paint, creating a textured surface that contributed to the majesty of the works. This, combined with his keen perception and subtle interweaving of colours, resulted in a series of shimmering images that captured the ever-changing nature of light and atmosphere surrounding the cathedral.
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Frequently asked questions
Monet painted over thirty paintings of Rouen Cathedral.
Monet painted Rouen Cathedral in the 1890s, specifically in 1892, 1893, and 1894.
Monet's Rouen Cathedral paintings are spread out across the world. Some are in American museum collections, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Many are in public museums in Europe, including the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Folkwang Museum in Essen, the Pola Museum of Art in Hakone, and the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris.
Monet was interested in capturing the dynamic nature of the cathedral's appearance at different times of the day and year and under different lighting and weather conditions. He wrote of painting Rouen, "I am more and more mad about the need to render what I feel or experience". Monet also intended for the paintings to be seen as a group, with the replication and subtle changes from one canvas to the next affecting the viewer's perception of the subject.
