Claude Monet, “Vineyards under the snow (Vetheuil area)”
“Vineyards in the Snow (near Vetheuil)” is an extraordinary, almost monochromatic landscape painted by Claude Monet in the village of Moulin d’Orgemont in 1873, revealing the artist’s fascination with Eastern art. The delicate, regular brushstrokes resemble Japanese calligraphy. The canvas was created a year after the famous work “Impression, Sunrise,” publicly presented in 1874 at the Nadar Studio exhibition, which gave the name to the new painting style: Impressionism. The name of the movement was coined ironically by art critic and journalist Louis Leroy but has since become ingrained in art history, aptly capturing the ephemeral moment chronicled by Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Pissarro.
In the painting from Vetheuil, typical features of the new movement are evident: the outdoor scene focuses on capturing the interplay of colors, lighting, and various shades of gray and brown in the landscape. The painting does not aspire to delve into metaphysical problems or moralize, a task often assigned to art in previous eras. The formal layer was intended to be a record of the artist’s individual perception. It was precisely the uniqueness of the impression, the famous “impression,” that defined the exceptional nature of the artwork. Initial negative opinions from art critics failed to discourage the audience, and the extraordinary popularity of this movement continues to this day, as seen in the prices that Impressionist canvases achieve at auctions. A notable supporter of Impressionism in its early stages was the well-known art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel, who supported artists financially, bought their works, and organized exhibitions.
The canvas “Vineyards in the Snow” was purchased by Paul Durand-Ruel from Monet shortly after its creation. In 1888, the landscape was in the possession of the firm Boussod, Valadon & Cie, and in 1893 – Hermann Heilbuth. Around 1910, it entered the collection of Adolf Rothermundt in Dresden, and later into the collection of Leo Lewin. It was then auctioned as part of his collection in 1927. Subsequently, it belonged to Paul Cassirer, the Knoedler gallery (around 1931), and Siegfried Arndt in Berlin. In 1960, it was acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Art.
Painting Information:
oil on canvas, dimensions: 60 x 81 cm, current owner: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond.
Literature: Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet: biography et catalog raisonné, t. 2, Lausanne 1996, s. 110.