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Grand Canal, Venice
Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926)
1908
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
73.7 x 92.4 cm (29 x 36 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Alexander Cochrane
Accession Number19.171
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Venice, Monet had always told his wife, was “too beautiful to paint.” But when he accepted the invitation of an American friend to stay at her rented palazzo on the Grand Canal in 1908, he set to work, turning out thirty-seven canvases over the course of his visit. This view, taken from the boat landing of the Palazzo Barbaro, captures the baroque church of Santa Maria della Salute and its reflection dancing on the water. Unlike many Venetian view painters, Monet showed less interest in representing famous monuments than in capturing the play of light and reflection on the city’s waterways.
InscriptionsLower right: Claude Monet 1908
ProvenanceMarch 1912, sold by the artist to Bernheim-Jeune, Paris and Durand-Ruel, Paris (stock no. 9992) [see note 1]; from Durand-Ruel, Paris to Durand-Ruel, New York (stock no. 3543); November 1912, sold by Durand-Ruel, New York to Alexander Cochrane (b. 1840 - d. 1919), Boston; 1919, bequest of Alexander Cochrane to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 3, 1919)
NOTES:
[1] The provenance given here is taken from Daniel Wildenstein, "Monet: catalogue raisonné" (1996), vol. 4, p. 809, cat. no. 1738. The painting was included in the exhibition "Monet - Venise," Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, May 28 - June 8, 1912, cat. no. 3.
NOTES:
[1] The provenance given here is taken from Daniel Wildenstein, "Monet: catalogue raisonné" (1996), vol. 4, p. 809, cat. no. 1738. The painting was included in the exhibition "Monet - Venise," Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, May 28 - June 8, 1912, cat. no. 3.