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Valley of the Creuse (Gray Day)
Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926)
1889
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
65.5 x 81.2 cm (25 13/16 x 31 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Denman Waldo Ross Collection
Accession Number06.115
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
One of the first Monets to join the MFA collection, this view into the valley of the River Creuse in France’s Massif Central region demonstrates the artist’s revolutionary use of color—deep purples, reds, and blues—to evoke three-dimensional shape and shadow. Monet’s fascination with instantaneity and the changing effects of light and weather led him to return again and again to paint the same location under varying conditions.
InscriptionsLower left: Claude Monet 89
ProvenanceApril 2, 1891, sold by the artist to Durand-Ruel et Cie., Paris (stock no. 901); transferred to Durand-Ruel, New York (stock no. 821); December 4, 1891, sold by Durand-Ruel, New York to Denman Waldo Ross (b. 1853 - d. 1935), Cambridge, MA [see note 1]; 1906, gift of Denman Waldo Ross to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 8, 1906)
NOTES:
[1] Information about the Durand-Ruel transactions was provided by Durand-Ruel in a letter to the MFA (1962).
NOTES:
[1] Information about the Durand-Ruel transactions was provided by Durand-Ruel in a letter to the MFA (1962).