Detail of Meadow at Giverny by Monet in the Princeton University Art Museum, July 2011

Claude Monet, French, 1840–1926

Meadow at Giverny, 1894

Oil on canvas

92.0 x 73.0 cm (36 1/4 x 28 3/4 in.) frame: 114.0 x 95.0 x 16 cm (44 7/8 x 37 3/8 x 6 5/16 in.)

Bequest of Henry K. Dick, Class of 1909

y1954-78

Signed in blue paint, lower left: Claude Monet 94

Gallery Label
Meadow at Giverny dates from a decade when Monet generally painted works in series, depicting a motif at different times of day and under varying weather conditions. These paintings often are considered experiments in color harmonies or documents of scientific optics, but according to another theory they are also nationalistic in nature—paintings of the Gothic cathedral in Rouen or grain-stacks treat deeply rooted French cultural themes. This painting is one of four scenes of the meadow at Giverny that Monet painted in the spring of 1894. They are unusual for this decade and respond to a different impetus, expressing Monet’s excitement at finding himself once again in the countryside, among the flickering, tender hues of the early spring.

Text from: artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/25075