Le Grand Canal

Le Grand Canal is an oil on canvas painting by French Impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840–1926). It is one of six paintings looking down the Grand Canal towards the Salute church. This Grand Canal series is in turn part of a larger series of paintings of Venice which Monet undertook during 1908 on his only visit to the city. The artist is generally regarded by art historians as being at the peak of his powers at this period.[1] The paintings were begun en plein air and completed in France.

Le Grand Canal
ArtistClaude Monet
Year1908
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensions92.4 cm × 73.7 cm (36.4 in × 29.0 in)
LocationMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston

This painting is a classic view of the Grand Canal, an attempt to capture the ever-changing face of Venice, as seen from the Palazzo Barbaro, one of the places where he stayed during his trip.

In 2015, it was sold for more than $35 million at an auction by Sotheby's. Sotheby's called this painting "one of the most celebrated Venice paintings".[2][3][4] Previously it has been in the private collection of the New Orleans sugar magnate, Hunt Henderson, who was a noted art collector.[5][6]

History

This painting was undertaken on Monet's trip to Venice in the autumn of 1908, when the artist responded to an invitation from the American woman Mary Young Hunter, to visit her at the Palazzo Barbaro, in Venice. Monet was 68 years old this year. Hunter was a friend of Monet's wife, Alice, who invited the couple to come to visit her in Venice, where she rented this palazzo. Initially Monet was not keen but he did decide to travel. Monet and his wife arrived in Italy on October 1.[7]

While there Monet completed a series of artwork on the Canale Grande painting the same motif at different times of the day. Monet had the habit of studying the same subject in a varying light, at different times of the day, which resulted during his active career in many distinct Monet series, like for example the Water Lilies series, Poplar series, Rouen Cathedral series, Haystacks series and Charing Cross Bridge series.[8] Monet painted 37 works of Venice during his three-month stay in Italy, from October to December, including this painting and five more depicting the same theme, Canale Grande.[9] One is hosted at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.[10]

Painting

This painting depicts the view from the Palazzo Barbaro. Monet’s series introduced a fresh approach to a theme that was painted by many notable artists before him. The series are a pictorial exploration of the light upon the ancient city. The painter captured the sensations according to how the appearance of the motif changed as the light shifted on the water and its surroundings. The painter used the mooring-poles to counterbalance the buildings on the other side of the canal. The Baroque architecture of the church of Santa Maria della Salute is prominent. Arguably, Monet was more preoccupied with capturing the light on the water than the well known panoramas and sights of Venice.[11][12][13] He certainly avoided painting the residents and tourists in the city; the absence of people gives an other-worldly impression.

Other works in the series included:

  • The Grand Canal - Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (W 1736)
  • The Grand Canal - (W.1737)
  • The Grand Canal - Nahmad Collection (W 1739)
  • The Grand Canal and Santa Maria della Salute (W 1740)
  • The Grand Canal, Venice (W 1741)

References
  1. "grand-canal-venice-claude-monet". Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  2. "Claude Monet's Le Grand Canal fetches more than $35M at Sotheby's auction". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  3. "monet-venice-painting-at-london-sale". Artnet News. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  4. "Sotheby's auction One of the most celebrated Venice paintings" (PDF). files.shareholder.com.
  5. "Great Collectors/Great Donors: The Making of the New Orleans Museum of Art, 1910-2010". noma100.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  6. [Sugar magnate Hunt Henderson formed the first collection in the South of the French Impressionists, with multiple examples by Monet, Renoir, Degas, and others. Henderson was an original trustee of the Delgado and generously lent his collection for the opening of the Museum.]
  7. Monet, Claude (9 July 2014). "Delphi Works of Claude Monet - Le Grand Canal series". Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  8. "series claude-monet". www.nga.gov. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  9. "The Grand Canal, Venice by Claude Monet". Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  10. "The New York Times monet-s-complexity-and-grandeur-in-his-series-paintings". /www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  11. "Grand Canal, Venice". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  12. "Claude Monet in Venice". www.intermonet.com. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  13. "Sotheby-s-to-offer-exceptionally-rare-view-of-Venice-by-Claude-Monet". artdaily.com. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
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