Stacks of Wheat (Sunset, Snow Effect)
1890–91
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
65.3 × 100.4 cm (25 11/16 × 39 1/2 in.); Framed: 84.2 × 119.7 × 8.9 cm (33 1/8 × 47 1/8 × 3 1/2 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
81545
Art Historical Context
Claude Monet's *Stacks of Wheat (Sun, Snow Effect)*, between 1890 and 1891, captures the artist's fascination with the changing effects of light on the French countryside. This oil on canvas, measuring 65.3 × 100.4 cm, belongs to Monet's renowned Haystacks series, where he depicted the same humble wheat stacks near his home in Giverny under varying atmospheric conditions. The title evokes a wintry sunset, with snow blanketing the ground and warm hues piercing the cool landscape, showcasing Monet's revolutionary Impressionist approach. As a cornerstone of Impressionism, the work emphasizes sen...
About the Artist
Claude Monet · 1840–1926
Claude Monet, born Oscar-Claude Monet on November 14, 1840, in Paris and raised in Le Havre, Normandy, began his artistic journey as a successful teenage caricaturist. His formal training started at the Le Havre secondary school of the arts in 1851, where he received his first drawing lessons from Jacques-François Ochard. Around 1858, he met Eugène Boudin, who became his pivotal mentor, introducin...