Camille at the Window, Argenteuil (Translation)
Camille à sa Fenêtre, Argenteuil (Primary Title)
Claude Monet, French, 1840 - 1926 (Artist)
In 1871, Monet took up residence in the Maison Aubry on rue Pierre Guienne in Argenteuil. It was situated down the street from the train station, making it possible for the artist to commute to his Paris studio and return home in the evening. Although Maison Aubry served as a frequent meeting place for Impressionist painters as well as collectors, writers, and journalists, this painting provides a rare glimpse into the interior of the Monets’ home.
The painter set up his easel in the courtyard amid the property’s extensive gardens, observing his wife, Camille, through a lush, successive layering of the ivy-covered facade of the house, the flower bed, and the variety of flowering plants in the blue-and-white-glazed flowerpots. The meticulous staging of horticulture in this scene prefigures the compositional motif Monet would continue to cultivate following his move to Giverny in 1879. Framed within the large shutters of the open window, Camille’s figure echoes the verticality of the potted shrubs and trees populating the lower half of the canvas. The beiges and creams of her hat, dress, and face allow her to stand out against the darkened and sparsely suggested interior.
2019-2021: Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Their Times: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN, February 2 - May 5, 2019; Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS, April 4, 2020 - January 10, 2021
2018-2019: "Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts", The Frick Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, March 17 - July 15, 2018; Oklahoma Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, June 22 - September 22, 2019
“Impressionist Still Life,” The Phillips Collection, Sept. 22, 2001-Jan. 13, 2002; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Feb. 17-June 9, 2002
“Claude Monet, 1840-1926,” Museo Espanol de Arte Contemporaneo, Madrid, Apr. 29-June 30, 1986
“Degas,” VMFA, May 23-July 9, 1978.
“Claude Monet,” Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, May 22-Sept. 30, 1959, No. 10
“Centenaire de Claude Monet,” Galerie Andre Weil, Paris, Jan. 30-Feb. 21, 1940, No. 4
“Claude Monet: Exposition Retrospective,” Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris, 1931
Curator’s Talk: The Reinstallation of the Mellon Collection
1:14:33The collection of European paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts given by Paul and Rachel Mellon constitute an essential facet of the museum’s identity. Dr. Sylvain Cordier, Paul Mellon Curator and Head of the Department of European Art, discusses the reinstallation of the Mellon Collection.
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
