Cliffs at Pourville

"Cliffs at Pourville" by Claude Monet is a significant oil on canvas painting created in 1882. This work belongs firmly within the period of 1876 to 1900, capturing the evolving sensibilities of French Impressionism as Monet began to explore more focused, singular subjects. The piece was produced during Monet’s residency on the Normandy coast, where the rugged terrain provided a rich counterpoint to the more familiar gentle river scenes of his earlier career.

The canvas depicts the dramatic chalk cliffs along the coast near Pourville, a location Monet frequented extensively in the early 1880s. Unlike earlier Impressionist works focused on urban leisure, this piece is an intense study of natural geological forms and the fleeting effects of weather and light on water. Monet utilizes characteristic rapid, broken brushstrokes to convey the movement of the sea and the texture of the rock face, capturing the atmospheric conditions of a bright, yet blustery day. The high horizon line emphasizes the sheer scale of the cliff, while the cool blues and greens dominate the palette, capturing the brisk atmosphere of the English Channel.

This important example of landscape painting currently resides in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The work demonstrates Monet’s commitment to analyzing the same motif under varied conditions, a method that presaged the famed series format he would adopt later in the decade. Because the artwork is held in a major institutional collection and is considered historically significant, high-quality reference photographs and prints are widely available for study. Furthermore, due to the work's age and history, it is frequently featured in public domain image archives, ensuring its accessibility to scholars and art enthusiasts worldwide.