La Grenouillère
Painting, Oil on canvas • Claude Monet
Style & Movement
Impressionism
Medium & Technique
Oil paint using rapid 'en plein air' brushstrokes, wet-on-wet technique, and alla prima application to capture shimmering light and water reflections.
Creation Period
1869
Dimensions & Format
Approximately 74.6 cm × 99.7 cm (29.4 in × 39.3 in), landscape format.
Subject Description
A leisure scene at the popular boating and bathing resort on the Seine near Bougival. Figures are gathered on a circular floating platform (the 'camembert'), with a restaurant boat to the right and bathers in the river. The focus is on the interplay of sunlight and shadow on the water's surface.
Condition & Value Assessment
Condition Assessment
Excellent (Museum Grade). The original is well-preserved with stable paint layers.
Estimated Market Value
$80,000,000 - $120,000,000 USD (Theoretical)
Auction Estimate
$90,000,000 - $110,000,000 USD (Theoretical)
Provenance History
Purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1929 through the H. O. Havemeyer Collection (Bequeathed by Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer).
Art Historical Significance
A seminal work of Impressionism. Painted alongside Renoir, this piece marks the birth of the movement's definitive aesthetic: the fragmentation of light and the use of broad, unblended strokes to represent transient atmospheric effects.
Notable Features
Distinctive horizontal slabs of color in the water and the lack of traditional detail in the human figures, signaling a shift toward modern abstraction of form.
Condition Issues
Minor age-related craquelure in heavier impasto areas; however, the painting is in a highly stabilized museum environment.
Conservation Recommendations
Maintained in climate-controlled galleries with UV-filtered lighting. Periodical monitoring of the varnish for yellowing is standard.