Haystacks (Effect of Snow and Sun)

Between 1890 and 1891 Monet devoted some thirty paintings to the haystacks in a field near his house at Giverny. In the midst of this effort, he wrote to the critic Gustave Geffroy: "I am working very hard, struggling with a series of different effects (haystacks), but at this season the sun sets so fast I cannot follow it. . . . The more I continue, the more I see that a great deal of work is necessary in order to succeed in rendering what I seek." Haystacks was the first group of paintings that Monet exhibited as a series; in 1891, fifteen were shown at the Galerie Durand-Ruel in Paris.

Do you want to learn more about Monet? Let's read "Brief Story of Claude Monet’s Garden in Giverny" on DailyArtDaily.com.